He Knows
by UknownHero
Summary: Taro Yamada never knew his school life would end up like this. A sociopath is out there willing to kill and destroy anything in her path and various girls are after his heart. He has no choice but to neutralize those who love him and stop the Yandere at all costs before it's too late. All because he knows.
1. Chapter 1: The Childhood Friend

Hey! UknownHero here and welcome to another new fic. I'm actually doing this to beef up my profile of stories before I move my reaction fics to Archive of Our Own as well as get this out of my head. This fic isn't going to update frequently, or be updated until all the rivals are know so I can plan the story out so please be patient until then if you like this. Anyway, let's do this.

New Game… Start!

Chapter 1: The Childhood Friend

 _My name is Taro Yadama. And… I don't where to begin, nor do I know where I end._

… _Okay, that even confused me so let me rephrase that. My name is Taro Yadama and I'm not sure about my future. It's my final year in Akademi High and yet I don't know where to go afterwards. It's like I'm wandering aimlessly, day after day just waiting for something to happen to me._

 _No. No, that isn't right. No, it's more like I feel… hollow. As I watch everyone else in their own circles, talking about everything from school to the next trend, I sit at the fountain waiting for the next class to start. I feel like there's this big gaping hole in my heart that I can't seem to close no matter how many stitches I use._

 _I suddenly realize after all this time… I feel lonely._

 _Sure, Osana has always been with me since we were kids, but she always seemed a little distant for the last few weeks. I didn't really have anyone else to talk to and I can't remember the last time I talked to someone who's the same gender I am. I guess I feel more comfortable around girls but I'm getting off track._

 _The point is… I overheard some of the guys talking about how they really needed girlfriends and that got me thinking._

 _Maybe, just maybe, if I got one maybe I wouldn't feel so empty every day._

"Nope." Taro muttered to himself as he scrunched up the paper and threw it away, "Ugh, that was so dumb…" He groaned as she stretched out his limbs. He was at home doing an essay for a class about… "Wait a minute, what was the topic again?" He realized before slapping his forehead and groaned. He was spilling out his thoughts and feelings onto a page for nothing, considering that school was starting tomorrow. He looked at his clock and saw it was midnight so he decided to go to bed. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, noted that he really needed to replace it sooner or later, and went to bed. As he laid in his futon, staring up at the ceiling, he got thinking about his school work and life in general before sighing and closing his eyes. Osana was going to be mad if he showed up late.

(Monday Afterschool)

It was another boring day at Akademi High and it seemed everything was normal. The birds were chirping, the sakura trees were still the vibrant pink colour he had come to love and orange sky bathing the school in warmth and peacefulness. Taro was about to walk home with his childhood friend when he realized something, "Taro! Where are you going!?" Osana Najimi called out as he ran back to the school,

"I forgot my phone! I'll be right back! Go on without me!" Taro called back as he rushed towards the school,

"Baka…" Osana mumbled to herself before blushing and smiling a little, "I won't leave you alone..."

"Come on, where is it? First day back and I'm already losing my stuff…" Taro grumbled to himself as he checked his homeroom. He didn't know how he dropped it but he knew it was there somewhere. Finally, after some time searching, he found it, "There you are." He said as he turned it on to make sure it was okay. When he saw that it was working perfectly, he quickly checked his text messages to see if his parents texted him about when his little sister was coming home. He didn't find anything, but then found a strange message among them. It didn't have a number he recognized but he checked it out anyway. His eyes narrowed as he skimmed over the messages and the replies. He didn't remember using his phone all day. Then it hit him.

This wasn't his phone.

"What the…" Taro mumbled as he looked at the phone. It was the same model. It had a lot of the same apps with a few exceptions but it had a different background than his one. He decided to turn it over to a teacher and see if she could help him with finding his real phone when he suddenly realized something.

Osana's name was mentioned in the messages.

Taro knew he shouldn't. He really did. It was an invasion of privacy. Hell, he had already invaded the person's privacy by looking at the messages. But then again, he was rather curious about why his childhood friend was mentioned, especially since he knew Osana didn't have many friends as well. His curiousity got the better of him and checked the text messages.

 **Unknown Caller:** Hey.

 **Owner:** Do I know you?

 **Unknown Caller:** I saw you stalking an upperclassman today.

 **Owner:** Do you have a problem with that?

'Well, maybe a little.' Taro thought before shaking his head and started thinking, '"Upperclassman" huh? So, whoever owns this phone is either a first or second year.' He made a mental note of that, promising himself to return the phone as soon as possible.

 **Unknown Caller:** No. I wanted to give you some information about the girl he was with. Her name is Osana Najimi. She has a crush on him.

'Osana has a crush?' Taro thought, surprised by the information before shaking his head again, 'It's probably just another rumour. God knows how fast they spread around here. Anyway, she only really spends time with me most of the time. I mean, we've been friends since we were babies. Osana can't like me, right?' He then mentally paused, '…Right?' He took another mental note to ask Osana the next time they see each other.

 **Unknown Called:** She believes in the myth about the cherry tree behind the school.

 **Owner:** The myth that if you confess your love to someone on a Friday, they are guaranteed to accept your confession?

 **Unknown Caller:** Correct. She's planning to confess to him next Friday.

 **Owner:** Why are you telling me this?

 **Unknown Caller:** I would be happy if something bad happened to Osana-chan. I think you might be the right person to give her what she deserves.

Taro's heart stopped at that sentence, "H-Huh?" He said quietly, the phone shaking in his hands, "Who would hate Osana that much…?" He mumbled to himself, wondering if his friend had enemies. The conversation he was reading through was starting to both worry and confuse him at the same time, "I need to know who this person is." He mumbled to himself before going back to the phone.

 **Owner:** Who are you?

 **Unknown Caller:** I'm the person nicknamed "Info-chan" at school.

"Info-chan. Her?" Taro muttered. He had heard about Info-chan; saw the cameras around the school and especially the one at the entrance of Info Club. He even heard she blackmailed some very powerful people in the education department to give her the amount of power she's rumoured to have. And, of course, there were the panty shots she sells to the boys and the occasional girl, "What's her problem against Osana?" He muttered, frowning to himself

 **Owner:** I've heard rumours about you. You blackmail girls and sell panty shots to boys. Nobody knows your real name.

 **Info-chan:** The rumours are true. If you ever need a favour, text me a panty shot and I'll give you whatever support I can. If you want to know personal information about anyone at our school, just send me a photograph of their face, and I'll tell you everything I know about them.

This disgusted Taro. Whoever this Info-chan was, he wasn't going to let her hurt Osana over his dead body.

 **Owner:** You're disgusting.

'At least we can agree on something…' Taro thought off-handedly.

 **Info-chan:** You're a stalker. If you want my help, text me. If you don't care, ignore me, You have one week until your precious Senpai belongs to Osana-chan. I hope you make her suffer.

Taro quickly checked the date and time of the messages and saw it happened last night, 'I-I need to tell Osana.' Taro thought before heading out the classroom and rushing towards the front of the school, before crashing into someone, "Ow! Sorry! My bad!" Taro groaned he slowly got up. He looked down and saw it was a rather skinny girl with dark grey or black hair, "Hey, are you alright?" Taro asked as he offered the girl a hand,

"I-I-I'm… I-I-I'm…" Ayano Aishi tried to form sentences as she held her Senpai's hand. Suddenly, she felt like she was in heaven. His very touch caused her newly formed heart to beat faster as she delved deep into her fantasies of marrying the boy in front of her. She had only met him a few days ago, and already she knew she was madly in love with him.

She knew he was the only person who could fill in the emptiness she had for her entire life.

"Um… hello?" Taro asked awkwardly as he pulled her up. She seemed to be in a daze. He decided to see if she had a fever because she had a bright red blush on her face, "Hey, do you need the nurse?"

'He's touching me…' Ayano thought. If this kept going, she would have to throw away her panties. All of them. Then she remembered what she was going to do before her Senpai crashed into her,

"D-D-D-D…" Deciding that her voice was useless right now, she just grabbed something from her pocket, bowed and presented it to him, "H-Here…"

"Huh?" Taro said before remembering why he was in the school in the first place, "M-My phone! Thanks!"

"Jsajkdhdidwd-d-d-dropped…" Ayano mumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence and slowly transitioning to unintelligible words,

"Um, well, I'll see you later." Taro said awkwardly as he headed out of the school, a little weirded out by the girl, not noticing said girl now licking the palm of her hand as she headed into the classroom Taro was just in, 'Why is the screen wet?' Taro thought as he used his uniform to clean his phone before placing it into his pocket,

"Did you find your phone?" Osana asked as Taro approached the front gate,

"Yep." Taro replied, "Alright, let's go home."

"Finally!" Osana sighed in relief as they started heading home, "Seriously, you need to take care your stuff better, you baka."

"I'll try." Taro said before remembering what he read back at the school, "H-Hey… d-d-do you… have a crush on someone?" Osana just stopped as her face became bright red. Taro could swear he saw steam coming out of her ears before she started hitting him,

"BAKA! Wh-Why would you ask me that all of sudden!?" Osana shouted at him,

"S-Sorry! But I heard you were planning to confess to someone on Friday!" Taro lied, blocking Osana's punches when suddenly it stopped. He stopped covering his face as saw Osana was fidgeting around, her bright red blush still on her face, "O-Osana…"

"Let's just go home…" Osana muttered as she continued walking. Taro only stared at her retreating form before catching up. It was pretty silent the whole way home as Taro mentally beat himself up for being too forward with the question. She and him were neighbors too, so he was sure it was going to take while before she would talk to him again. When they finally arrived, Taro decided to try and warn her,

"H-Hey… there's something I have to tell you…" Taro said before he felt Osana's finger against his lips,

"Please… just leave me alone..." And with that, she retreated into her house leaving Taro alone. She didn't greet her parents. She didn't eat. She just shut herself in her room and jumped into her bed. She grabbed the picture of him and herself as kids enjoying some sea-salt ice cream and looking longingly at the photo, "Taro…" Osana whispered to herself before clutching the photo against her chest, "Please… don't leave me alone…" Meanwhile, outside, Taro was still staring at the spot Osana was,

"D-Does she really have a crush me…?" Taro thought out loud. Everything was starting to confuse him, so he decided to just turn in early for tonight. He didn't know whenever or not he actually like her more than a friend but he shook his head.

He had until Friday to think about it after all.

(Meanwhile at the Aishi Residence…)

Okay, maybe licking his phone wasn't a good idea, but his finger grease/sweat/germs tasted so good that she didn't regret pick-pocketing him. She only regretted giving it back however but even she thought it was too far. Anyway, she had her left hand to lick. Sure, she would eventually have to clean it but she knew she wanted it to last as long as it could. She would not clean it until Friday.

She would not clean it until Osana Najimi's blood stained her skin.

Ayano was already planning how to make Osana's eventual death look an accident. As she imagined pushing the little bitch off the roof, her phone rang, 'Info-chan.' Ayano thought as she picked it up,

"Hello, Aishi. How was your first day as a second year?" Info-chan asked, but Ayano knew she didn't mean it,

"You're just calling because I haven't sent you any panty shots today." Ayano said flatly, "Look, I realize now I need your help but-"

"Oh, I know. I'm just calling you up to warn you about a certain someone." This got Ayano's attention,

"Is it Osana Najimi?" Ayano asked, starting to feel her rage bubble up inside her,

"Oh no. Much, much worse." Info-chan replied. Ayano could only frown as she could practically see the smirk on Info-chan's face, "He knows."

Her heart stopped. Her face paled. Her blood ran cold.

"Wh-Who?" Ayano managed to get out,

"Your Senpai found your phone and saw our little conversation. And he knows that there's someone after his heart, and it's not you." Info-chan informed the Yandere before deadpanning, "Don't lick your phone, Aishi." Ayano cursed to herself before listening to Info-chan again, "I suggest you act fast, before Osana-chan confesses to him early. I'd give it about 3pm tomorrow. Tick Tock, Yandere-chan." And with that, Info-chan hung up. Ayano didn't let the nickname bother her as there was more important things to worry about. Ayano clenched her hand into a fist as she threw her phone away and rushed over to the kitchen. Her mother love knives for some reason, and right now Ayano was glad she did. She decided on the sharpest looking knife in her mother's collection and sharpened it some more. Suddenly, she imagined blood splattering the blade as she drives it deep into Osana's neck, chest and face. Every part of her she wanted to see bleed. A mad grin was starting to form on her face as the images in her head grew more gruesome, taking pleasure in seeing Imaginary Osana in absolute pain,

"You'll never love him like I do, Osana Najimi!" Ayano laughed out as she stabbed the air, "Senpai isn't yours! He's mine! HE'S ALL MINE! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!" She cried out as she stabbed the floor, imagining as Osana's long dead body. After feeling she had enough practice, she slowly got up and laughed to herself.

Osana was definitely going to get what she deserved tomorrow.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! See ya whenever the Rival Introduction video is out!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	2. Chapter 2: The One Worth Protecting

Hey to all! UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows, which in my mind is called Senpai Simulator. Good to see there's some support for this fic so thank you and I hope you stick around for more. Anyway, a quick answer to a review from MEleeSmasher: You're actually talking about Rival-chan, the initial design for Osana before she was updated. It's very possible that Rival-chan will be taken out or used for something else when the full game is out, which is gonna take a year or two at the rate YandereDev is going. Anyway, let's get started.

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 2: The One Worth Protecting

 _That night, I couldn't sleep._

 _The thought of someone after Osana was keeping me up and I couldn't get it out of my head that she was in danger. Am I just over-thinking this? I mean, I did invade someone's privacy and I have no business in how they feel about certain people, including my childhood friend._

 _But… Osana's been really distant with me lately. We've stuck together ever since we were first years. All this time, I've seen Osana as another sister. A sibling. Someone who'll stick with me until the end._

 _But… is Osana really in love with me?_

 _And… do I really see her as more than a friend?_

 _More importantly, am I being stalked?_

(Tuesday)

Taro Yamada yawned as he walked to school. He barely slept a wink last night and Osana wasn't waiting for him like usual so he walked to school alone. It was strange. Osana always walked with him to school, despite acting like she was annoyed by it. Hell, he almost didn't get out of bed this morning if it wasn't for his little sister waking him up. He was rather worried for his childhood friend, especially with the possibility that she might get hurt but he shook his head. "It's not your business." Taro told himself. "You're just being paranoid." As he approached the gates of Akademi High, he breathed in the air. "It doesn't concern me." He told himself for what felt like the millionth time. But at the back of his head he knew.

He knew it deeply involved him.

Meanwhile, Ayano Aishi shifted her panties a little as she walked to school. The knife tucked her underwear was uncomfortable and she was sure she was going to cut her thighs or worse, but she had no choice. The pockets in the school uniform were too small for the knife to stay concealed and she needed those pockets for her wallet and phone anyway. But Senpai would not like a scarred vagina. She wondered if she could get Info-chan to change the school uniform into something more practical other than sailor fuku.

Sailor fuku was meant for middle school girls after all.

She also heard around the school about the complaints about the length of the skirts and how it was banned to wear anything underneath them to cover their panties. Something about disgracing the founders of the school or something. Ayano guessed Info-chan had something to do with that, but decided to not dwell on those thoughts any longer.

She had a target she needed to eliminate after all.

But first, she needed information on Osana Najimi. She looked around, but all the faces she saw she didn't recognize nor cared to pay attention to. Actually, she had no idea _what_ Najimi looked like. Before meeting her Senpai, everyone was basically faceless to her. Their personalities, looks and voices just blended into each other for her. The only person she truly wanted to know was…

Suddenly, it hit her.

She quickly called Info-chan. "Info-chan, I need all the information you know about Senpai. His daily routine. His schedule. Everything." Ayano said. She guessed if she knew Senpai's schedule, Osana Najimi wouldn't be too far from him.

"Already sent. I knew you'd need to know everything about your Senpai." Info-chan said. "I even sent all the information I have about you just for fun. But remember, you have to get a picture of the person you want if you want their details." Ayano only grunted and hung up. A few seconds later, she was received an two emails with PDFs attached to them. She opened up one of them and saw that it was her own profile. She had to admit, Info-chan practically knew everything about her. She even had her stalk- _observation_ times of her Senpai down to the last second in her daily schedule. She quickly saved the PDF to her phone before opening up Senpai's profile.

"Taro… Yamada…" Ayano whispered to herself. Finally, she knew the name of her Senpai. The name was like poetry to her. She thought the very letters of the name were specifically created just to create such an incredible name. It was such a beautiful name that she couldn't help but space out a little, imagining herself as Ayano Yamada.

Or, her Senpai being Taro Aishi.

Now that she thought about it, 'Taro Aishi' did have a sort of ring to it.

She quickly snapped herself out of her trance and check Taro's schedule. "If this is right then Senpai should be-" Her mutterings were interrupted by someone bumping into her and causing her to drop her phone.

"Oh! Sorry!" Taro quickly apologized. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see where he was going. He quickly caught the phone before it smashed into the ground. He mentally winced at the model of the phone before looking up and seeing it was the girl from yesterday. "Oh, hi. Um, thanks again for finding my phone for me… Oh. I didn't get your name."

"I-I-I…" Ayano stuttered out. The very presence of Taro Yamada caused her to freeze. Her heart felt like it was going burst out of her chest. She wanted to speak. She wanted to say something. She wanted to yell to the heavens that she was in love with Taro Yamada, that she was his and he was hers.

That anyone who dared taking him away from her would die.

But she knew there was _that little bitch_ after his heart and she wasn't mentally or emotionally prepared to give a confession. Not when there were others. So she just stood there. Stuttering like an idiot.

'What's up with her?' Taro thought before shaking his head. "Er, here's your phone." Taro said as he handed Ayano her phone back.

"I-I-I…" 'I love you…' Ayano tried to say but instead shouted out. "I-I-I… card GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!" Taro only looked at her weirdly while the Yandere herself was getting ready to use the knife in her panties on herself.

"Um… okay…" Taro chuckled out as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Er… I'll see you around. I guess." He said as he walked away. Ayano could literally feel her heart breaking piece by piece with each step Taro took. She knew she needed to act fast or else Senpai would think she was a freak, meaning he wouldn't love her, meaning she needed to make sure no one else will take him away from her.

"Ai-Aishi!" Ayano managed to call out, getting Taro's attention. "A-Ayano Aishi." Taro looked back and saw that she was blushing madly and shaking. He guessed she was extremely nervous, but wasn't exactly sure why.

"Well, Aishi-san. I'm Taro Yamada. Nice to meet you." Taro replied with a smile before making his way to his shoe locker, completely missing the fact that Ayano fainted right on her feet, unlikely to wake up until the end of the school day. Taro looked around and saw that Osana was sitting at the fountain in the courtyard.

"Osana!" Taro called out as he went up to his childhood friend. Osana looked up and felt her body tense. She really didn't want to talk to him right now. She couldn't face him after hearing about what he might know. As if the gods were answering her prayers, the bell rang, indicating that it was time for class. Without another word, Osana just got up and headed to class, not daring to look at her crush's face. "O… sana…" Taro said weakly as he watched Osana walk away from him. He felt his heart ache as he just watched Osana leave.

He sighed and started making his way to class. He just wanted the day to end now.

(Wednesday)

Osana knew she was being an idiot.

Actually, right now she was considering herself to be the biggest idiot on the planet.

How could she let this happen? She swore she told no one about her crush on Taro and yet somehow he knew that she at least liked someone. Sure, there were certain physical traits she liked but no one in the school had those and she doubted anyone knew what she liked in a guy. And while Taro had none of the traits that attracted her, she had liked him since they were little. At first, she thought she was crazy. Boys were gross so she started acting a _bit_ meaner to Taro, but there was always something stopping her from pushing him away completely, always walking with him to school, buying him sweets and hanging out with him.

All with the excuse of making sure he wasn't going to do something stupid. Like going out with another girl.

As she sat in class, she wondered if she would really go through with the myth. Suddenly, all the nerve she built up over the years was completely gone. For the past couple of nights she had been trying to write confession letters but ended either sounding way too creepy or pathetic. And she couldn't exactly talk to him now. Every time he tried, she would just calm up and make up an excuse about needing to do something before leaving. She was missing her morning and afterschool walks to and from school with him and it was killing her inside. She missed his cheerful voice, his annoyingly bright smile and…

She just missed him all together.

Her heart was aching for his love, and she didn't know what she wanted to get rid of. Her feelings or the ache in her heart.

She didn't know it, but Ayano Aishi was going to decide for her very soon.

Anyway, class ended and she was feeling hungry. It was lunch and she wanted some fresh air so she decided to take her lunch on the roof. Taro rarely went up to the roof and usually spent his lunch reading at the fountain so it was the perfect place to avoid him. As she made her way up to the roof, she noted all the students in the school. There were a lot of faces missing from last year, including this year's Student Council President Megami Saiko. Apparently, she was still attending school but from home using the internet. Many questioned why her father forbade her from attending school physically, leading to various rumours that Osana didn't really care about it. It was odd, sure, but it wasn't her problem. Anyway, after seeing Midori Gurin texting on her phone, she knew she was at the roof. Seeing that no one else was on the area apart from the Basu Sisters and a light blue-haired girl, she set her bento down on a bench and approached the green-haired girl.

"Hi Midori." Osana greeted. "Still sending emails to that game developer?"

"Yep." Midori replied before sending another email. "I heard he's working on a big new feature and I really wanna know everything about it."

"Is this game more important than actually attending classes?" Osana had to ask.

"Not really. But I always get looks whenever I say something in class, and you know my parents won't let me drop out. They paid a lot of money to get me to attend here after all." Midori answered. Osana had to feel a little sorry for the girl. Practically everyone disliked her in some way. Hell, Osana was the only one who would really talk to her or classify as a friend and yet her feelings towards the green-haired girl were neutral at best. "And I really don't know why."

"Maybe you're dyslexic." Osana guessed.

"…What's dyslexic? Is that a type of diet food or something?" Midori asked with a confused look on her face. Osana mentally face palmed before answering.

"No." Osana deadpanned before leaning over the rail, looking down at the courtyard, watching the hundred or so students talking to each other. But, Osana only focused on the boy sitting at the fountain reading a book. "Taro…"

"Why don't you say something to him?" Midori asked, surprising Osana.

"Th-That's stupid, Midori! It-I-I-It's not li-l-like I l-l-like hi-h-him or anything!" Osana exclaimed, a bright red blush on her face.

"What makes you think I know you like him?" Midori asked, causing Osana to want to melt into the ground. Suddenly, realization hit Midori's eyes. "Wait, YOU LIKE-" Midori was quickly shut up by Osana, who covered her mouth.

"Shut. Up." Osana said through gritted teeth before calming down. "I-I'm just not ready."

"Fwhen argh few gowing tew fee freddy?" Midori asked, her voice muffled by Osana's hand before pulling Osana's hand away. "When are you going to be ready?" Midori repeated.

"Fr-Friday." Osana answered. "U-U-Under the cheery blossom tree on the hill."

"Why not now?" Midori asked.

"I told you before. I'm not emotionally ready right now." Osana said before sighing. "And… I believe that if I do it then and there… Taro would be with me forever. I can't imagine a life without him by my side and just the very thought of it hurts. I've been with him in sickness and in health, when he was happy and when he was sad. And without him in my life… I'd feel empty."

"…But why?" Midori asked, still looking rather confused.

"Ugh! Because I, Osana Najimi, love Taro Yamada!" Osana called out as she bopped Midori in the head. "Why can't you get it through your thick skull, baka!"

"Oh… you didn't have to hit me…" Midori whined as she rubbed the sore spot on her forehead, both she and Osana not noticing Taro stumbling back from the door to the roof before running away and Ayano messing with Osana's bento. Osana's stomach then growled, cuing the Yandere to hide. Osana sighed before going back to the bench and opened up her bento of takoyaki, rice and some cute little octopus-shaped sausages her mum knew she liked. Meanwhile, Ayano was observing the scene, desperately trying not to laugh. She had poison Osana Najimi's lunch with a little something she stole from the Nurse's Office. She had no idea what Zinigiber Officinale Pills were, but she was sure she put enough of it to make Osana Najimi's lunch the last meal of her pitiful life.

'Eat it, Najimi. Eat it and I'll make sure Senpai is in my hands.' Ayano thought as a mad grin broke her face. She was wondering if she could get some free stabs in Osana Najimi's body when no one was looking just to make sure the _ungrateful whore of a bitch_ was dead.

She watch in anticipation as Osana picked up the sausage octopus, slowly moving it closer and closer to her mouth. Closer and closer to her death.

Suddenly, her breath stopped as soon as Osana started choking.

Ayano's eyes widened as her pupils shrunk as she experienced a new emotion. Thrill. But was 'thrill' an actual emotion? She didn't care. It was happening. Her first kill. The first death of a Rival for her Senpai's heart. She also felt a sort of sadistic joy out of watching the bitch writhe, desperately trying to cling on to her pathetic life.

She wanted more.

She wanted her to feel more pain.

She wanted her to _suffer_ for even thinking about Senpai.

She deserved all the pain she was experiencing for loving _her_ Senpai.

She no longer cared that there were witnesses. Osana was taking too long to die. She wanted _bl_ -

"Ack! Went down the wrong pipe." Osana swore as she spat out the piece of sausage before eating getting another and eating it. "Oh, I deserve this."

For those uninformed, Zinigiber Officinale Pills are commonly referred to as Ginger Pills, used for treating seasickness. Which Info-chan happily explained to her at home.

The next day, Ayano wore her Study Panties to school.

(Thursday)

"Have you heard? Some second year wore her panties on her face today." Taro overheard Saki say. He was currently at the fountain, finishing up a book while Saki and her rainbow-haired group of friends gossiped about the latest rumour. "Kept saying to herself 'Must study for Senpai' or something. Weird."

"Well, there are some students who'll do anything for good grades." Mei chuckled out. "I guess she wanted a head start on exams this year, huh?"

"Though, you mentioned she was studying for her senpai. I wonder who it is." Yuna wondered out loud. Taro only turned back to his book. But Osana was still on his mind.

She loves him. Osana Najimi was in love with him.

He kept repeating Osana's confession in his head while also going through his memories and evaluating himself. Why did she love him? How did she fall in love with him? When did it happen? Was it purely infatuation that would fall through after a couple of years or was it genuine and that it would last a lifetime and beyond? He didn't know but at least he knew why Osana was avoiding him.

But then there was the stalker who wanted her gone.

He didn't know what to do now. If someone was out there willing to hurt Osana, he… well, he wasn't the ideal guy. He was just… Taro Yamada. Just some guy. He wasn't popular, or that attractive and a little bit of a perv if his nurse fetish (and his sister who happily reminds him about said fetish daily) had anything to say about it.

He knew what he had to. However, he felt like it was an impossible task. But, he felt like if he didn't do this, Osana wasn't going to live long enough to make it to next week.

All he had to do… was talk to her.

Meanwhile, Ayano has had enough. She was done being stealthy. She wanted Najimi to burn in Hell. After checking Osana's schedule on her phone, she quickly formulated a plan of action and went with it.

But first, she needed to stop by the Drama Club.

(Some time later…)

"Najimi! It's your turn to clean up the gym today." The gym teacher, Kyoshi Taiso, announced as the bell rang, indicating that it was time to go home. Osana sighed as she stood up and started cleaning up as everyone started prepping for home. To be honest, she needed the extra time to think.

"Tomorrow I confess." Osana told herself as she put away the balls. But there were doubts clouding her mind. What if he rejected her? Would they still be friends? She was starting to get cold feet and she was thinking about abandoning the plan. She hadn't talked to Taro in three days and now she was starting to think that he thought she hated him. Even the rational part of her mind that was telling her that it was preposterous was doubt its own judgment. But she needed to know. She sighed to herself again. Whoever told Taro about her crush on him was-

Suddenly, the gym lights turned off.

"Huh? Wh-What happened to the lights?" Osana muttered to herself. It was completely dark in the gym and she couldn't see anything. "Is there a power outage?" She wondered out loud. Suddenly, the door to the gym opened and closed, causing her to jump in her skin. "Huh? Is anyone- AAHH!"

Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground. Before she could even react, a knife went straight through her left hand and pinned her to the floor.

Osana Najimi was going to die.

(A few minutes earlier)

Taro was wandering around the school, asking everyone he knew where Osana was. He couldn't remember Osana's schedule so he tried talking to his classmates, which was pretty difficult considering he wasn't that much of a social person to begin with. Anyway, he saw that almost everyone had left the school, with only a few students staying behind either because of detention or club activities. He sighed, thinking Osana had left already until he saw Kuu Dere taking her shoes out of her locker. Taro hadn't talked to her yet so he decided to approach her. "Hey, Dere-san."

"Hm?" Kuu said as she looked up. "What?" She asked tonelessly.

"Do you know where Osana is? I've been looking everywhere for her." Taro said.

"She's at the gym." Kuu answered before putting on her shoes and leaving.

"Er, thanks." Taro said awkwardly as she left. He quickly switched his shoes, went outside and started making his way to the gym. He was quickly going through the questions he wanted to ask Osana, discarding a few of them in case they drove her away again. He stopped thinking, however, when he saw someone coming from behind the gym. Now, this wouldn't be cause for any alarm but he noticed four small details that caused his heart to stop.

It was girl wearing the Akademi uniform, a mask of a demon that was probably stolen from the Drama Club, wielding a knife.

And a buzzsaw.

At first he was frozen. He knew. It was the stalker. The… Yandere, a term he recalled from a book. Defined as someone whose obsession with someone becomes destructive in nature, often expressed through violence and/or brutality.

But then he remembered Osana was still in the gym.

So, he ran. Intending to save his friend from death.

"AAHH!" He heard Osana scream in pain. The noise pierced his ears and heart. He was never the most athletic student, even now his body was screaming for him to slow down, but he kept running. He let this happen. If he just told Osana, she would've at least be aware someone was about to end her life.

He wasn't going to let anyone die because of him.

As soon as he heard the buzzsaw turn on, he burst through the doors of the gym. "OSANA!" Taro yelled out. Suddenly the stalker froze just as she was about to dismember and rip apart her Rival while her victim's eyes widened.

"T-TARO!" Osana screamed out, tears running down her face.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Taro shouted out as quickly tackled the Yandere to the ground, causing her to drop the buzzsaw onto Osana's head. Luckily, the saw part didn't hit her. Unluckily, it still left her bleeding from the head along with a concussion. Taro wasn't aware of this, however, as the Yandere tried to push him off while scrambling for a weapon.

But Taro wasn't going to let her.

He tore off the mask and punched her in the face, knocking her out in an instant.

It was too dark to see who the Yandere was but he was more concerned for Osana more than anything. He quickly got off his stalker and quickly rushed to Osana's aid. "Osana! I'm so sorry!"

"Wh-What?" Osana asked, still dazed from the experience. Then she remembered the knife pinning her hand to the ground and was bleeding heavily. "T-T-Taro… the knife!"

"Huh?" Taro said before noticing the knife in Osana's hand and in the ground. "Wh-What the-!? How did she do this?"

"I-I don't know but PULL IT OUT!" Osana shouted out. Taro quickly nodded and helped her pulled the knife out of the ground and out her hand. Taro then used the knife to quickly rip apart of his uniform to create makeshift bandages for Osana's wounds. "T-T-Taro…"

"We need to get you to a hospital." Taro said desperately.

"B-But…" Osana said as she looked at the unconscious form of her attacker. "T-The person wh-who…"

"We need to get you to a hospital." Taro interrupted his childhood friends, slowly saying the words as tears flowed down his face. Seeing that there was no room for argument, she nodded and they both started making their way to the nearest hospital, leaving the Yandere there.

If they had thought to call the cops, Yandere-chan would've been arrested for attempted murder. But they didn't. Taro and Osana just ran. Only a few minutes later, Ayano would wake up, get rid of all the evidence of the struggle, went home and cried, with only Info-chan preventing her from committing suicide by telling her Senpai still didn't know who she was.

But Ayano knew her life was over, Osana Najimi would confess her love to Senpai and they would be dating. But in the back of her mind, there was a lingering hope that said Senpai would reject her.

Either way, she was bring a knife to school tomorrow.

(Hospital)

Osana only stared at her bandaged hand.

The doctors had quickly stitched up her wounds and right now were informing her parents of her location and state. They told the doctors that she had tripped and fallen, her hand getting stabbed by some stray glass bottle, both knowing that the Yandere would be long gone by now. Taro hadn't left her side for one side, stoking her right hand, either out of worry or comfort. They were alone and the sun had set hours ago. Taro had also called his parents, saying that he was going to stay with Osana even if she was released from the hospital. The constant guilty look he had on his face was killing her. Anyway, the room was completely silent. They didn't know what to say after everything that occurred. Right now, they were just glad they were alive.

After a few more minutes of silence, Osana wanted to say something. "Taro… I-"

"It's my fault." Taro interrupted, his voice cracking from sadness.

"No it isn't." Osana quickly said. "There was no way-"

"Yes there was!" Taro shouted out, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "I knew! There was someone after you, and I could've stopped it! I could've told you, yet every time I tried, I thought it was just me being paranoid. I-I… I'm sorry Osana… I'm such an _**idiot**_!" Taro then started crying freely, only to stop when Osana hugged him.

"N-No…" Osana sobbed, now crying as well. "I… I'm the idiot here. I avoided you. I didn't want to even see your face. I… I was a coward. To be honest… I was scared. I was afraid to face you after what you said. I-I-I couldn't live with myself knowing that you might hate me!"

"O-Osana… I would never hate you." Taro said. "Osana, I-"

"Yes." Osana said as she sniffed some mucus in her nose, looking down at her hand.

"Huh?" Taro was now confused, but his eyes widened as Osana looked up at him, love in her eyes.

"Yes… I do have a crush."

And then, she kissed him.

The kiss was warm. Pleasant. The world seemed to fade to black as they kissed. Taro felt Osana's tongue wanting permission into his mouth, which he happily let her. There was no battle for dominance as he expected. She let his tongue in just like he did. Sure, this was his first kiss, and he was sure they were screwing it up due to their inexperience but to both of them, it was magical.

They pulled away for air, a leaving single string of saliva being left behind before snapping.

"…I know." Taro whispered out before Osana pecked him on the cheek.

"I know it's only Thursday, and I know it's only at a hospital. But I love you, Taro Yamada. Please… will you be my boyfriend?" Osana asked, her face close to Taro's. Suddenly, Taro saw her in a different light.

Her eyes. Her long hair. Her pale complexion. Even her voice and personality. He flashbacked to all the good times he had with her throughout his childhood and smiled.

That's why it was so hard to say the next few words.

"No." Taro said quietly.

Osana felt her entire world shatter when heard that little two letter word. The expression on her face told Taro everything.

Shocked. Hurt. Sad. Angry.

Heartbroken.

"I'm sorry. You're my childhood friend, and maybe I do love you. But… you're also someone worth protecting." Taro explained as he stood up. "And I can't let you get dragged into this."

"T-Taro… wa-w-wait." Osana whimpered out, unable to comprehend his words. She reached out to him with her injured hand, trying to stop him.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Taro said tiredly before leaving. Osana could only stare at the door, the sounds of the hospital being the only things she could hear.

No longer able to hold it in any longer, she broke down crying.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! Well, that was depressing and I felt like I was starting to lose steam back there but hey, for the sake of drama and the plot. Up next is the Cooking Club President: Amai Odayaka so stay tuned for that.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	3. Chapter 3: The Cooking Club President

Hello, people all over the internet! UknownHero here and welcome to 2017 and another chapter of He Knows! Let's hope 2017 will be a much better year and hopefully I finish React Watch Believe Yikes which has been officially moved to AO3. Anyway, I hope all you guys had a good time on New Year's Eve and I hope all the presents and love you receive has satisfied you until next December.

And now, to start off this year… with LOVE AND MURDER! And depressing stuff, I guess.

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 3: The Cooking Club President

 _It was… hard to turn down Osana._

 _She is… maybe was now… my friend, my only friend since my first year at Akademi. And… now that I really think about it, I guess I do harbour some romantic feelings for her. Deep down, maybe I was slowly falling in love with her without even knowing it._

 _Despite her flaws, her treatment of me, I still love her._

 _A lot of people only see the worst side of her, but I'm the only one who see the other, much kinder and somewhat more insecure side that she makes sure no one sees, even me. But I still her as the same girl I knew since we were starting to learn what love is._

 _But it doesn't matter now._

 _There's someone after me… after my affection that I'm not sure I can give. And… this person is going to hurt people, kill them if they get in her way or even think about pursuing a relationship with me. I can't just let this happen. I can't let this Yandere kill just for me._

 _My classmates are in danger. The school staff are in danger. The police won't help unless there's enough evidence for an arrest. My parents are just gonna make it worse. Anyone after my heart… are going to die unless I do something._

 _This is my burden. Because I know._

(Friday)

The sky was cloudy with dark clouds looming over the school. It was going to rain for sure so many students had started making their way home before they all got wet. It came out of nowhere, the forecast not being able to predict the sudden appearance.

But Osana knew maybe it was God taking pity on her.

She was sitting underneath the sakura tree on top of the hit, the petals slowly falling upon her body as she stared at her bandaged hand. It was a reminder, a scar of her broken heart. Although she was physically fine enough to attend school, nothing could heal the hole left by Taro. She cried a total of six times throughout the school day and when she wasn't she was completely tuned out, unable to pay attention to any of her classes especially when Taro was there, consciously avoiding her and avoiding any sort of interaction or eye contact, and all the students wondering if she was alright or how she got injured. At least she was aware enough to warn the school councilor about someone using one of the masks in the school to hide their identity when her attacker tried to kill her. Next week, all masks would be banned from the school. Sure, the Drama Club would have complaints, especially with a play coming up, but she really didn't care anymore.

She wondered to herself why she even came here. It only made her want to cry even more. But she couldn't go home unless she wanted to be even more miserable. She had dreamed of this moment even since she learned about the myth.

It was supposed to be bright and sunny. Clear blue skies as she patiently waited for Taro to come. She would've put her confession letter, which she would've finished if she didn't almost die, in his locker, asking him to come. She would see him walk up the hill, that stupid goofy smile she loved on his face. He would ask her why she wanted him here. She would confess to him, pouring her heart out, letting her feelings known to him. She would go on to tell him why she loved him, how long she yearned for him and more importantly, ask if he could go out with her.

He would say "Yes".

They would kiss.

Their fates and lives would finally intertwine into one.

It would've been the happiest moment of her life.

It _would've been_.

And yet, she was here alone, cold and miserable as a human could be. She was attacked, she was almost killed and at the end of it all her Knight in Shining Armour abandoned her at the hospital. Maybe it was karma for something she did, maybe her treatment of her crush, but it didn't matter now.

Her life had lost all meaning as soon as Taro said "No".

She was just about to cry again when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She looked up, hoping to every single God she knew that it was Taro. Instead, she decided to cry when she saw it was just some girl.

Ayano had been expecting Osana to be under the sakura tree. There weren't any witnesses in the area as they've all surely gone home, allowing her end the pitiful life of Osana Najimi, and maybe even Senpai if it was too late. Hell, she was ready to kill them both and commit suicide on the spot as soon as she saw some sort of sign that indicated that they were in a relationship. She had brought her sharpest knife for a reason.

And yet, she couldn't find any.

When she wasn't in classes, she was st- _observing_ Senpai as much as she could. There were no signs of them in a relationship. Hell, best case scenario was that he hated her now. And how couldn't he? Najimi was weak. Incapable of providing the love she would give him. Her love was fake.

But, she needed confirmation. She just hoped the makeup on her bruised cheek would prevent Najimi from discovering that she was her attacker.

"Is there a reason you're here?" Osana asked, tears still running down her face. "I want to be left alone." Though it was obvious enough that Senpai had broken Najimi's heart, she needed to make sure she wouldn't pursue him any further, unless she wanted to die. Putting on one of her various personas she had developed over the years, she decided the best way to interact with Osana Najimi was to act like she cared for the _bitch who deserved to die_.

"You seemed you need a friend." Ayano said as she sat next to her enemy. "Something happen?"

"It's none of your business." Osana growled. "Leave me alone."

"It's Friday and you're under the sakura tree. It seems that you were expecting something." Ayano pointed out.

"Well I'm not anymore." Osana sighed as she wiped away a few of her tears. "Something came up and… he won't return my feelings."

"…Are you going to try and change his mind?" Ayano asked as her hand slowly went under her skirt to pull out her knife just in case. Meanwhile, Osana had a flashback to how she almost died and shook her head.

"…No." Osana answered after a bit of thought. "I might still love him… but what's the point? I… He's better off without me anyway…" She said with a sniffle while looking at the ground.

Ayano's pupils shrunk when Osana said "I still love him".

She still loved Senpai. The _bitch_ won't concede and let his one true love go after him. She could kill her right now. She wasn't going to make the same mistake. No one was around and she could easily dispose of Osana's body, get rid of all the evidence and none would be the wiser.

But then she stopped herself.

No, it would be unprofessional. Osana would not continue to chase after Senpai. Her heart was completely broken by him and would stay broken as long as she lived. Osana was miserable, hollow and killing her wouldn't do anything. If she was missing would get suspicious and despite everything, she couldn't deny that she was still Senpai's friend and that if she were to die it would cause more than a few problems in the future. And despite the little voice inside her head, she was suffering enough.

Osana Najimi, a Rival for Senpai's heart, was officially eliminated.

So without another word, she left, leaving Osana to wallow in her misery.

(Monday)

To say that Taro was miserable would be an understatement.

Although he knew it was necessary in order to protect Osana from the Yandere, it didn't help his loneliness. He had been avoiding her all Friday and Saturday last week and stayed in his room all day. Hell, he even went to school much earlier than he would've just to make sure he wouldn't see Osana. He couldn't stay friends with Osana as long as there was some crazy person out there willing to kill for him. He had to stop this person before anyone was killed.

Still, it was going to suck.

It could take a few weeks, a few months, maybe a couple of years before he could find out who Yandere is. He wasn't a detective. He knew he should've gone to police but due to some murder case back in his parents' days in high school, the police weren't exactly the most useful people he could go to. Hell, he was sure that they wouldn't even bother to station a few cops around the just in case. He knew he was way in over his head, but he was the only one with the power to stop the Yandere.

Well, at least he hoped.

Anyway, it was lunch and he was sitting at the fountain alone. It seemed everything was normal. The students were talking about the latest piece of gossip in their own little social groups and other junk he was starting to lose care about. After seeing that there could be a murderer in the school, things like idols and rumours were the least of his worries.

"I might be going cynical…" Taro groaned to himself. "And so early in the year too…"

"Are you alright?" A feminine voice coming from in front of him asked. He jumped and looked up. The first thing he saw was her stockings, which were white with green stripes around it.

"H-Huh?" Taro let out. He didn't recognize the girl at all but from the apron, the basket filled to the brim with pastries and the red armband, it looks like she's part of the cooking club. The President of it even. "Oh… sorry."

"Hey, it's alright." The girl said kindly as she sat next to him. "You seemed lonely. Are you okay?"

"Erm… not really…" Taro muttered out. "I uh… Well… I kinda-"

"Hey, you don't need to talk about if you don't want to." The girl said before getting something from her pastry basket. "Maybe a little comfort food will brighten your mood. Cupcake?" Taro's stomach decided to growl at that moment, causing the Cooking Club President to giggle as Taro blushed in embarrassment. "Maybe you're just cranky from an empty stomach." She joked.

"Um, thanks." Taro said as he took the rather tasty-looking cupcake and took a bite. Suddenly, the favour of the cupcake exploded in his mouth. It was much better than he was expecting. He could only describe it as… heaven. "W-Wow… this is really good!"

"We-Well, I-I-I'm st-still learning so I'm n-n-nn-ot as g-g-good as I'd like t-t-to be…" the girl stammered out with a blush on her face.

"I hope you get there soon." Taro said with a smile before holding out his hand. "I'm Taro Yamada. Third Year."

"O-Oh. I'm Amai Odayaka." Amai introduced herself as she shook Taro's hand. "Second Year and President of the Cooking Club."

"Nice to meet you Odayaka-san." Taro replied. "I haven't seen you around the school though last week."

"Oh, well, I was still overseas in America when school started. I only got back yesterday." Amai explained. "So, you're a Third Year right? I guess that makes you my Senpai."

"I-I guess." Taro said. Then, the bell rang. "Oh… um, we should head to class."

"Okay." Amai said as they both stood up. "I'll see you around, Senpai?"

"Just call me Taro." Taro told her. "And yes, I'll see you around Odayaka-san."

"Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always available." Amai told her Senpai. "Well, good-bye Taro-senpai!"

"Bye, Odayaka-san." Taro replied before heading in different directions. Halfway to class, he realized there was a warm feeling in his chest, kind of like the one he had with Osana when she kissed him, but just not as strong. But, he also had this strange feeling he was being watched. But he shook his head and ignored those thoughts.

He didn't want to deal with all this stalker stuff or his drama with Osana or even acknowledge the existence of his love life.

Right now, all he wanted was someone to talk to.

Meanwhile, Ayano was shaking in rage as her phone vibrated. She growled before picking it up. " _Hm… looks like your Senpai is with another girl. And after all your hard work with Osana-chan…_ " Info-chan said sarcastically.

"Do not patronize me." Ayano said as she watched Amai head to her classroom before sending the photo she took of her next target to Info-chan. "Who is she?"

" _Let's see… ah, here we go_." Info-chan said. " _Amai Odayaka. Sweet and gentle, just like her name implies. President of the Cooking Club. Notable traits include having a rather impressive cooking ability for a high school student, possibly even better than some professional chefs. Looks like she's getting rather friendly with your Senpai. Considering his mental state for the past few days, I saw he will fall in love with her by Friday._ "

"He is not allowed to love anyone else." Ayano growled. "He. Is. Mine."

" _Well, you better get to work Yandere-chan. And I advise not to repeat what happened last Thursday._ " Info-chan said before hanging up. Ayano turned off her phone and stared at Amai in contempt before heading off to class, making a promise in her head.

'I will not make the same mistake again. Amai Odayaka will die.'

In class, Osana was resisting the urge to yell. She was pissed. 'Taro! You stupid, freaking baka! You break my heart and now you go off with another girl you barely even know!? You stupid… IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!' Osana thought, her page of notes now filled with scribbles of Chibi-Amai getting beaten up by Chibi-Osana and Chibi-Osana making out with Chibi-Jerkface. She couldn't hate Taro but seeing him with another girl was just another wound in her heart.

'But he's doing this to protect me from that attacker…' She thought a little bit more calmly. That damn knife and demonic mask was still haunting her dreams. 'He… said he loves me…'

Suddenly, it hit her.

"He said… he loves me…" Osana whispered out. "And… he's trying to face my attacker… on his own."

" _I'm sorry. You're my childhood friend, and maybe I do love you. But… you're also someone worth protecting." Taro explained as he stood up. "And I can't let you get dragged into this."_

For the seventh time today, she sniffled before looking out the window and to the sky. 'It's too late Taro.' Osana thought with a small smile. 'I already got dragged into this. You can't face this on your own.' With a new resolve, she had a goal in mind. And she was willing to sacrifice everything she had to ensure Taro's happiness and maybe even her own if she was lucky enough.

Stop the Yandere.

And she already her first objective: Neutralize Amai Odayaka before it's too late.

Except… she didn't have any skills, wasn't that smart, was barely passing P.E. and lacked any connections that would help Taro in any way possible.

She promptly slammed her forehead into her desk. It was going to be a long week.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! First chapter of the year done! Well, see ya next time!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	4. Chapter 4: The Shoulder to Lean On

Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows. Still glad to see there is support for this fic but I have to admit I'm having trouble figuring out a neutralization method for Amai. I got one for the Drama Club President, the Substitute, the Nurse, the Occult Club President and the School President but the others I'm drawing a blank. But they all have roles to fill in the story. I imagine every girl having an ability Ayano can get while Taro himself has no abilities. For example, Osoro can do actions that can damage reputation without consequences or Oka being less noticeable among other things that will come into play. Anyway, enough of my imagination, let's get this story rolling.

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 4: The Shoulder to Lean On

 _The lesson I learned after my encounter with the Yandere was this._

 _Don't take love or friendship for granted. It's the most precious thing you can have in your life. Sure, you won't notice but it's gone… you'll miss it with all your heart._

 _It leaves a hole that can't be filled by anything else. Maybe in time you'll find someone that will fill it, but never completely. It's not repaired… it's replaced. It may look fixed but in reality it's still there just filled in. It's not the same._

 _I learned that lesson as soon as Taro rejected me._

 _It only took until now to take it to heart._

 _But now I know. I know what I have to do. I know my purpose, to ensure the happiness of my friend, to stop some psycho and anyone from taking his heart._

 _Because Taro is mine. And everyone else has to go through me to reach his heart._

 _Hopefully, they don't do it with a knife._

(Tuesday)

Osana took in a deep breath, sweat running down her face.

Everything in her entire being was telling her to stop what she was doing and run. It was no longer a game anymore. It was survival of the fittest and she knew with all her heart she would probably either die or regret every day she was alive if she was to pursue her decision.

But she stood her ground. She was not going to back down. She was not going to let what happened last happen again. She wasn't going to let another steal Taro's heart, because quite literally lives depended on it.

So, after standing there like an idiot for several minutes, she walked up to the list of clubs.

Today was the day clubs were accepting new members and despite Osana wanting to spend as much time with Taro and relaxing, she knew if she wanted to help him fend off the Yandere, she would have to join a club to learn new skills like fighting or… cooking.

Osana growled, remembering that… fluffy little bitch walking with Taro to school today.

"I'm the only one allowed to do that, damn it." She growled under her breath. She looked at the club sheets and saw that Martial Arts were accepting members. It was her first choice to join, but then she realized it would take too long to be able to learn techniques and build up her strength fast enough to overpower the Yandere. She was as weak as an uncooked noodle. Plus, with her injuries she wasn't going to do much anyway. Still, the prospect of learning how to fight made it an option.

Then there was the Drama Club. Allowing her to develop acting skills and giving her access to disguises and such. She could hide herself and look for the Yandere from behind the scene. Pun intended. But… it just wasn't for her. She couldn't act to save her life and she was done lying. She lied to herself for years before admitting she loved Taro and then she lied to Taro himself about her feelings.

And look how that ended up.

The Science Club? No, those guys were freaks and she was really bad at science.

The Occult Club? Hell no. Ghosts and demons weren't going to help her in the slightest, even if they did exist. Plus, she was always creeped out by their club room.

The Light Music Club? …No. She doubted playing music would help prevent the Yandere from finishing the job and stabbing her to death.

The Photography Club, there was no point in considering. The entire club was just made for their members to goof off and she doubted they would be of much help. Though, gaining access to a high quality camera could be perfect for her to capture evidence. But… that would mean someone getting hurt. More than likely, the person being hurt would be herself or Amai.

The Art Club was also useless. She doubted some paintings would stop the Yandere.

The Sports Club wasn't that much of an option since, again, her injuries wouldn't let her be at her best. But then again, she could always use her feet and getting herself fit was tempting. But again, it would take too long for her to train up to be ready for the Yandere.

The Gardening Club? She shivered at the memory of the circular saw that almost went through her face. She had considered joining the club due to Taro's interest in plants but right now it wasn't going to help her. Maybe providing her weapons but… she wasn't a killer. She was better than her attacker and she was going to show it.

But then… at the corner of her eye and on the wall instead of the corkboard, she spotted it.

The Gaming Club.

She knew games had some real world merit. Better reaction time, an increase in aggressiveness, teaching how to defend one's self just by watching a character enough. Hell, she heard the club just got Virtual Reality equipment and had just downloaded a game that taught you how to load and fire a gun, and it was significantly less dangerous than actually wielding a real one and was currently downloading a sword combat game, all thanks to Midori spilling the beans to her yesterday.

…Osana just sighed. "You really don't wanna join a club…" She told herself. It was either the Gaming Club or the Cooking Club. "Eh, screw it. Gaming Club it is." She muttered as she signed her name, not noticing someone behind her gasp and approach her.

"Osana, are you really joining the Gaming Club!?" Midori exclaimed with joy, causing Osana to jump and turn around.

"Midori! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Osana breathed out, her heart still rapidly beating in her chest. She almost jammed her pen into Midori's eye.

"I'm sorry but…" Midori then squealed. "We aren't as popular as other clubs so someone other than Pippi, Ryuto and Mai is exciting." She then scratched the back of her head. "P-Plus… no one really talks to each other. We're either playing our games or..." Midori then trailed off, realizing that they didn't do much else.

"You… still have the VR stuff… right?" Osana asked.

"Yeah, but we can't use it." Midori answered before blushing. "I… kinda busted a few computers so I'm requesting an empty space we could use for that kind of thing. I told the principal and he told me to come back to him next year!"

…Midori was a Third Year.

Osana chose to attend the Cooking Club as Ayano looked at the list of clubs available to her before sighing to herself.

She had joined the Drama Club last week. At first, it was obtain access to masks but once they were banned, she was thinking about quitting. She did not need them anymore and the play they were going to put on before she joined didn't interest her. But then again, not much interested her anyway apart from Senpai. But then, as she was about to tell the Substitute Drama Club President that she was going to quit, she realized something.

Actors were liars.

They were able to hide behind facades, masks that allowed them to feel emotions that weren't there. Expressions with fake tears and hollow smiles. The ability to become someone else at the snap of a finger. Understand how to pull the right strings and press the right buttons to make people happy, sad or angry.

And… it was something Ayano couldn't let go of.

She… needed to understand emotions and who better than the ones that could fake it better than her. She was already an actor throughout her entire life, putting on various personas to appear normal enough but she never truly understood the meaning behind a smile or a frown and people would give her weird looks whenever she talked. She just couldn't put emotion behind her words unless it involved Senpai.

And… she didn't understand love in general.

She knew she was in love. She knew that Senpai would love her after she _killed every single bitch and whore in her way_ but in order for her to get Senpai to be with her, she needed to understand how love truly worked.

That way, she could… _nudge_ Senpai into loving her. Maybe with words. Maybe with rope.

Plus, the ability to make people feel whatever she wanted could be helpful in the future. Though, it would be much better if she could _twist a blade into their throats until they would stop screaming._

Ayano quickly shook her head, dispelling those thoughts. Despite her mind telling her Rival's lives needed to be ended as soon as possible, she knew there were better ways despite agreeing. Her attempts at killing Osana taught her murder wasn't easy. She couldn't just walk up to those who didn't deserve Senpai and stab them.

No, she had to plan. To find an opportunity.

Following Amai Odayaka around and obtaining her schedule made her realize that she was going to be and pass through heavily populated areas of the school. It was like someone deliberately planned her daily route to be plagued with witnesses, making killing her near impossible without getting caught. No, she needed a plan. To separate her from the pack and destroy her as soon it was just her and Amai Odayaka alone.

Which meant she needed Info-chan's help.

She only sighed in resignation as she went to the bathroom, casually taking a picture of Midori and Osana's panties as Midori begged Osana to join her club.

She only hoped Info-chan accepted her own panty shots.

But first… she needed to get rid of those nice thoughts about killing before she went to class. People had looked at her weirdly when she subconsciously stabbed her paper, before playing it off as frustration. And… she had a nice picture of Senpai sleeping in his room which she took in the middle of the night and one of his t-shirts. And… maybe a lock of his hair.

Ayano… was becoming addicted to all sorts of love.

(After School)

"So you're Osana Najimi…" Amai Odayaka said, reading the list of new members. Osana was doing all she could to stop her eye from twitching or growl at her. She forgot Odayaka was the President of the Cooking Club. Still, it gave her the opportunity to watch her while she figured out how to neutralize her. "Welcome to the Cooking Club, I hope you enjoy your time here and learn something new."

"Thank you." Osana managed to sound thankful and bowed. "So… what are we doing today?"

"Well, actually I need help with a recipe." Amai admitted. "It's not complicated, but it does recommend two people to work on it." She then looked at the bandage wrapped around Osana's hand and the stitches on her forehead. "What happened to you, anyway?"

"I tripped." Osana replied before putting on an apron and a head cloth. "Don't worry, the bandages are clean."

"Okay. But why did you choose to join the Cooking Club?" Amai asked as she washed her hands.

"Well… a few personal reasons." Osana answered as Amai gave her the recipe. "Mostly because I… like someone."

"They do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Amai said as she took out a knife and started cutting up the ingredients. "But then again, food can brighten up anyone's day."

"Is that why you started cooking?" Osana guessed as she looked for the ingredients they needed.

"Um, part of it." Amai admitted. "I just like seeing people smile. It's my dream to make as many people happy however I could. And cooking was the easiest to me."

"That's rather noble of you." Osana noted before looking around. "Where are the others?"

"Actually, all club activities are postponed for some reason." Amai said sheepishly. "I'm actually doing this for a friend. He should be coming here soon."

"Really…" Osana muttered, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah. I invited him to eat." Amai said with a blush on her face. "I actually only met him yesterday but he really needed a shoulder to lean on. So, I'm doing everything I can to make him happy again."

"Well, I know that feeling." Osana said with a sigh. "So, who is he?" Suddenly, they heard someone running before seeing the door slide open, with Taro leaning on the door frame struggling to breathe.

"I… need… to… workout…" Taro panted out, clutching his chest. He just spent the last several minutes looking for the Cooking Club after cleaning up the classroom and he really didn't want to be late. "I'm sorry if I'm…" Taro started, only to trail off when he saw Osana staring at him. "Um… hi."

"Taro." Osana said. Suddenly, the atmosphere became really awkward.

"You two know each other?" Amai asked, completely ignoring the tension in the room.

"You could say that." Taro answered. "O-Osana. You… joined the Cooking Club?"

"Since I have nothing to do after school I decided to pick up a hobby." Osana said. Taro just winced at that while Osana was wondering why she was acting so bitter. She wanted to help him, damn it! Why was she being passive aggressive?!

"Um… well… I'm glad you're pursuing something you're interested in." Taro said. "So Odayaka-san, Osana, what are you two making?"

"Hey, I'm not spoiling the surprise Taro-senpai." Amai giggled out. "You go take a seat while we prepare the meal. Osana, I need you to start mixing."

"Sure thing, Buchou." Osana said, faking happiness before she went and started cooking. She always was a decent cook but the way Amai moved around the kitchen, it was like she was dancing. She had a flow that couldn't be broken, even when Osana would sometimes try and break it.

She was not a simply a chef. She was an artist. Born to use the various utensils like a brush. The food she used in every recipe was her paint. The plates she put out were her canvas. It wasn't a hobby, or a passion. It was her life. And when she test tasted her food, she had died and went to heaven.

Suddenly, her bento tasted like dirt compared to Amai Odayaka's cooking.

"And a few finishing touches…" Amai muttered to herself as she sprinkled in a bit more flavour into each plate before cleaning it up a little for presentation. "And… perfect. Three American-style cheeseburgers ready to eat."

"I can't believe we actually made our own bread." Osana admitted as she sat down at the dining table. "I saw we had bread in the fridge."

"Yeah, but it just isn't the same." Amai said as she placed the plates in front of Taro and Osana before taking her own seat. "If I don't make everything, it doesn't taste right to me. All food should be fresh and filled with love, not made in a factory and stuffed in cans and plastic."

"Hey, speaking of America, how was it?" Taro asked.

"It was great!" Amai replied. "I learned so much I couldn't learn from my relatives." She then sighed sadly with a smile on her face. "My parents, grandfather, grandmother, they taught me almost everything I know so it was strange to learn from other people."

"Well, it looks like it paid off." Taro said before taking a bite of his burger. Just like the food Amai cooked before, wonderful flavours exploded in his mouth. "Whoa! I've had burgers before, but this is amazing!"

"Like I said, it's better if you make everything yourself." Amai said. Their conversation continued, with Osana being slowly forgotten as she ate her burger. It… hurt to see Taro so happy. And… she wasn't the cause of his happiness.

It was almost like she was replaced.

"Taro… can you… come with me." Osana said, her voice barely audible. "We… need to speak… in private." And yet, they didn't notice. She tried to speak louder but she couldn't find it in herself to speak louder than a mouse. Sighing and finishing her burger, she got up and left the room, neither Taro nor Amai noticing. Once she was outside the club room, she made her way to the roof, she leaned her back against the wall and slid down.

All of that just reminded her how miserable she was.

It was pretty pathetic to know that all she really had was Taro. Her friendship with him kept getting her up every day. But now she was… replaced… with someone… better than her. Nicer. Friendlier. Someone who would give him a shoulder to lean on. It hurt. It hurt so much.

But then she shook her head. "No, this is for him." She told herself. "This isn't about you anymore."

"What is it about who?" Taro asked, freaking Osana out.

"Taro!? You baka, why did you scare me like that!?" Osana yelled out before wincing again. "S-Sorry… I just… why are you here?"

"Well, I noticed you disappeared and I decided to search for you." Taro said before sitting down next to Osana.

"Why didn't you let 'Buchou' search with you?" Osana asked mockingly.

"Because I think it should be just you and me." Taro answered. "Why are you crying?"

"Huh?" Osana said before feeling her cheek. There were tears running down her face and she didn't realize it until now. She wiped them off and replied. "…It's just …Taro …you know I love you."

"…I know." Taro sighed before looking at the injuries she had. "And I told you before; it is not safe to be around me right now."

"I know that but… I just can't." Osana said. "It's just that… I can't let you go so easily."

"But it's for the best." Taro said before standing up. "I don't think we should be… friends anymore. Not until-"

"Not until what?" Osana growled. "After you're happy with someone else. Not until you find whoever attacked me. Taro, you're just a student! You can't do anything!"

"I know I can't!" Taro said back. "But it's my responsibility! It's my fault you were hurt in the first place! And I can't stand you getting into this."

"I'm already in this, whenever you like it or not!" Osana called out. "You can't do this alone! This is way over your head!"

"This is over your head too!" Taro retorted. "What can you do? You just don't get there's someone willing to kill for me! I can't let this person take a life for me, especially your life. I wanna protect you."

"Don't act like some knight in shining armour!" Osana yelled out. "You're barely even a man! Taro, I love you. But don't throw your life away for me!"

"It's not about you!" Taro shouted out. "It's about everyone else! There is a psycho running around and we're here arguing when I could be out there finding her!"

"Well, you have a funny definition of investigation!" Osana said as she stood up. "You're hanging out with some girl you barely know! You aren't trying to find her; you're looking for my replacement!"

"I'm not trying to replace you!" Taro shouted out in frustration. "There's no way there'll be another Osana Najimi in my life!"

"Well, there will never be another Taro Yamada in my life too!" Osana shouted out as well, leaning in closer to Taro's face. "It may be one of the most common names in Japan, but damn it! Why won't you listen!? I love you, Taro Yamada! Get that through your thick skull, baka!"

"Well, clean out your ears because I love you too, Osana Najimi, you damn baka!" Taro yelled out, leaning in closer to Osana's face as well.

"Are we clear about that at least!?" Osana called out.

"Yes!" Taro loudly replied.

"GOOD!"

"GOOD!"

And then it became awkward as they realized what they just said.

"Um… so… are we…?" Osana tried to bring up the elephant in the room but couldn't find the words.

"A-After I-I-I de-d-deal with t-th-the Yan-Ya-Yandere." Taro said. "Then… maybe… we could…"

"I told you, you can't do this alone." Osana said before smiling a little. "But… I would like that."

"Well, we're probably worrying Odayaka-san by now so we should probably head back." Taro suggested.

"Y-Yeah." Osana said before they started making their way back. "You know… I admit I thought it would take longer to convince you to let me help."

"Well, you would just try and help anyway. With my permission or not." Taro pointed out.

"Yeah but…" Osana trailed off as she noticed someone crawling into the Cooking clubroom. "Huh? There shouldn't be anyone else here. Club activities were postponed today…"

"What are you talking about? I never heard of anything like that. I was running around and most of the clubs are still…" Taro said before realization started dawn upon them.

Amai Odayaka was in danger.

Without another word, they ran as fast as they could, just in time to see the Yandere raise the kitchen knife she stole from the kitchen from behind Amai's back as the Cooking Club President was playing with her phone. The Yandere was wearing bandages she stole from the Nurse's Office to conceal her face and medical gloves to hide her finger prints. Both of their bodies moved before they thought.

"AMAI! WATCH OUT!" Taro yelled out before jumping onto the Yandere's back, trying to disarm her and take her down. He would not let her get away this time.

But Yandere-chan spent her Sunday playing a fighting game, other than observing Senpai.

Remembering a move from it, she drove her elbow into his stomach and, with a burst of strength, grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder and onto the table.

"AH!" Taro yelled in pain. He was in too much pain to move now.

"TARO!" Osana shouted out before attempting to tackle the attacker, only for her to miss, hit the table, hit a chair and then hit the floor face first. Ayano then stabbed her in the thigh, to both show Amai she wasn't afraid to drive a blade into her heart and as revenge for trying to protect _the whore who must die_.

"Taro! Osana!" Amai exclaimed in concern before realizing the attacker was approaching her. "H-Huh? P-Pl-Please… n-n-no… d-d-d-d-don't hurt me…" Amai sobbed out.

Ayano knew this was her chance. She could end her pitiful life right now.

Sadly, however, it just wasn't her time. Yet.

Killing her was too messy. Too complicated. No, it would be much better if she feared her. Make her realize the consequences of her actions should she pursue Senpai.

"Stay away from Senpai." Ayano threatened, her left eye peeking through the bandages promising never-ending suffering. "He. Is. Mine."

"Wh-What are you-" Amai was too scared to form words. Someone… had tried to kill her. And was still going to at this rate.

"Stay. Away." The Yandere reiterated with a growl before running away. Amai, unable to process what just happened, started to cry as Taro fell to the floor and picked himself up before crawling his way over and started comforting her.

"It's okay… you're safe… you're safe…" Taro whispered into her ear. Amai only sobbed and clutched onto him as students started to approach the scene, leaning on his shoulder.

Unknowing to everyone at the scene, this was the start of something no one could've predicted.

It was the beginning of how Amai Odayaka would fall in love with Taro Yamada.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! I felt like I rushed it a bit but I'm just going with the flow at this point. Oh well.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	5. Chapter 5: The Protector

I really need to go out and buy games. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows, a story about prevent psychopaths from killing your waifus from a game that's not even out or even close to 50% complete. Thanks for all the support and don't be afraid to ask questions if you want to. Speaking of which, to Danmaku-OverLord: That neutralization method had already been considered, and is being used for another girl. Sorry, but I need something less… generic than that. Anyway, with that out of the way and not much else to talk about, let's go!

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 5: The Protector

 _It was complete chaos. No one could've predicted what the fallout of this was going to be._

 _The police was called and ambulances arrived at the school within minutes. With our injuries and accounts, it was confirmed… there was a dangerous person on campus. And it could be anyone._

 _I could already feel the paranoia spread throughout the school… but I wouldn't be there to see it._

 _I didn't get hurt much, so I was going to get painkillers while Osana got her stab wound patched up at the hospital. We were both given the rest of the week off to recover by the principal._

 _But… that wasn't my biggest concern right now._

 _It was Amai._

 _Her wounds… they weren't exactly something you could heal with medicine and bandages._

(Tuesday)

(Evening)

Taro was still reeling from the attack. His parents almost had a heart attack when they heard and Hanako really laid it onto him when he got home as she cried like a little baby. He saw on every single social media account he had were messages expressing worry about the attacks and new rumours regarding it, theorizing that he, Osana or Amai were attacked by the yakuza or something for reasons unknown.

Taro couldn't help but sigh. If only they knew they were attending school with a sociopath that could literally be anyone.

Speakaing of Osana, Osana was going to spend the night in the hospital so he really couldn't talk to her. They really needed to discuss further about where they stood. And his parents and little sister were out getting takeout and his prescribed medication for his sore back so he technically had the house to himself. He felt lucky that the Saikou Corporation existed, or else he and Osana would've been out of commission for much longer, and who knows what the Yandere would do with that type of time.

But, there was one thing the Saikou Corporation didn't provide that would make his life easier right now.

Just because he was in charge of the house, it didn't mean he was alone.

"Thank goodness your parents went out shopping today." Amai Odayaka said as she searched the kitchen, wishing to cook up a quick appetizer for herself and Taro. "I can definitely work with everything here…"

"Odayaka-san, shouldn't be going home?" Taro spoke up from the couch. He would've talked to her face-to-face, but he was laid down on the couch and he needed help getting up or else it would hurt like hell. He also couldn't walk without support from another person until he got his painkillers. Overall, he was powerless to stop Amai from cooking. As he lay there, he wondered _why_ the Yandere would attempt to kill her instead of Osana. He felt so stupid for not keeping an eye on his childhood friend.

"I called my parents and said I'll be staying at your house for a while." Amai said as she started to reach for a knife, but hesitated before grabbing it.

"What do you mean by a while?" Taro asked, wondering what she was making. He also thought about how Amai was acting right now. It seemed… odd for her act like this, especially after being attacked. She would've at least shown obvious signs of trauma.

"Until you're back on your feet." Amai replied. "I owe you my life after all."

"No you don't." Taro said. "You don't have to be here for me and Osana helped, didn't she?"

"I know… but…" Amai muttered before looking at the front door. "At least let me stay here for the night." Taro could only sigh at this.

"Okay." Taro said. He really didn't want her to be around him just in case the Yandere came for him, but he really didn't have a choice. "But only tonight."

"Thank you." Amai said before she bowed. "I promise, I won't be a burden."

'You'll never be.' Taro thought as he sighed. 'But I will.'

Meanwhiile, Ayano was cursing to herself as paced around her room. How could should mess up another assassination? She should've been more aware of her surroundings. And now, she discovered thanks to Info-chan that everyone had become much more careful around school and the delinquents were planning to start checking for weapons at the school gate, meaning she could no longer sneak in weapons. Plus, Senpai wasn't going to school for a week. They still didn't know her face; she made sure of that, but now it things had become more complicated. She groaned as she heard her phone ring and picked it up.

" _Well, that could've gone better, now_." Info-chan teased, causing Yan-chan to feel more annoyed.

"She isn't dead." Ayano said.

" _Yes, but this presents an opportunity._ " Info-chan informed the Yandere.

"Explain." Ayano commanded. She was interested in this, and if it would eliminate her Rival, she would take it no questions asked.

" _You see, you may not have physically harmed Odayaka but you managed to harm something else._ " Info-chan explained as she reviewed the security footage. " _She's scared, Yandere-chan. It's not obvious yet but I can see cracks. She'll be much more vulnerable to attacks on her psyche. You don't have to kill her… but you can definitely work on breaking her_." Ayano started to think about this method.

So far, her more direct actions only resulted in her targets living, her identity being almost revealed to Senpai, Senpai hitting her (unless it was a fetish, then she would gladly let him abuse her body for all its worth… if only she could return what she received) and her closer to giving up Senpai and her life. But if she started acting indirectly, all of these obstacles would cease to exist.

'It creates less risk, but it's going to take more work but it will keep your identity from being revealed to Senpai.' Her rational side told her. 'Senpai would never know.'

' **But don't you want to see them writhe in pain?** ' Her irrational side said in a seductive tone. ' **No one else deserves him other than you. You want them to know. You want them to be punished. You want them to die.** '

"I want both." Ayano mumbled to herself.

" _What was that? Hello?_ " Info-chan spoke up, wondering why Ayano went silent for a few moments. She really had to get someone to break in there and install security cameras soon. Meanwhile, Ayano shook her head and focused back on the conversation.

"Where is Amai Odayaka?" Ayano asked. Info-chan couldn't help but smirk.

" _She's at Senpai's house._ "

Ayano could only see red after that sentence before rushing outside and getting onto her bike.

She would break that bitch and make her scream for this.

(Some time later…)

That night, Amai couldn't sleep. It was midnight, and the Yamada family was kind enough to give her a spare futon and let her sleep in Taro's sister's room. Not that Hanako was happy about it but she really didn't have a choice. But as everyone else in the household drifted to sleep, Amai laid awake, staring up at the ceiling and still in her school uniform. She tried to sleep multiple times but every time she closed her eyes, she could the eye of her attacker.

Her cold, rage-filled eye that promised her eternal misery and the knife she wielded, once her ally in the kitchen, was ready to end her life at the blink of an eye.

She didn't know why someone would want her dead. Did she do something horrible without realizing it? Did she make an enemy by accident? Or… did someone just really hate her that much that they would resort to murder? These were only a few questions she asked herself throughout the night.

Maybe it would be better if she made herself a warm cup of milk or something. Maybe eat some leftovers.

With a groan, she got up and as silently as she could, walk out of the room, went downstairs and made her way to the kitchen. The entire house was dark and quiet, and for some reason it unnerved her. Why did every sense she had scream at her to run? Maybe it was just paranoia due to the attack but it couldn't possibly…

Possibly…

Possibly…

…but it was.

Before Amai could even react, Ayano grabbed pulled out a knife and tackled Amai to the ground making sure to cover Amai's mouth to prevent her from screaming and waking her Senpai's family, knees on her hands to prevent her from grabbing anything to help her. It was too dark for Amai to see Ayano's face, but Amai's heart stopped as she recognized Ayano's eyes.

Ayano couldn't help but grin. This was going to be _amazing_.

"I told you to stay away." Ayano growled as she pressed the blade against Amai's throat. How easy would it be to kill her now… A single twitch and it would all be over.

But she would not stain Senpai's sanctuary with this _whore's blood_.

A mere human would end her life right now. But right now, she wanted to be viewed as a _monster_. A demon that preys on the unworthy. A spirit that punishes the wicked. Something to make her stay away from Senpai.

It was really nice to see the girl blubber underneath her, snot and tear running down her face and unable to say anything intelligent at the moment.

Actually now that she noticed, there was the distinct feeling of something wet and warm pooling onto the floor.

It was a sign that Ayano's job was pretty much done tonight and to take a shower when she gets home.

"Now listen closely." Ayano whispered into Amai's ear. "I warned you to stay away, and yet you didn't listen. Now every day you are here, this blade on your pretty little neck gets a little deeper." She then demonstrated it by cutting just deep enough for Amai's blood to trickle out.

"I…I… He…" Amai stuttered out, her own tears blurring her vision. She felt safe around Taro-senpai, she wouldn't leave his side.

Mostly because she physically couldn't.

She was scared to go outside without someone with her now. She was too scared to even talk to anyone else other than Taro-senpai. In those few moments where she almost died, her view of the world changed.

The world had wanted her to die.

And they would've succeeded if it wasn't for him… Taro Yamada… his very presence comforted her as she sat there crying. The sight of him made her feel safe and calm even with the chaos around her. And when she was told to sleep in his sister's room, it felt like her world crumbled.

She couldn't just leave his side.

He… was…

"I… I… can't… I can't stay away from Taro-senpai…" Amai sobbed out. That was not the answer Ayano wanted, but she was fully prepared to come every night, as long as it took to destroy her mind, to make her stay away from Senpai without resorting to murder.

But if she doesn't leave by Friday she was just gonna kill her. Ayano didn't have that kind of time, or tolerance, to let her stay near Senpai for long. Plus, she called Senpai "Senpai".

No one was allowed to call him that except her.

"Then I will return. Every. Single. Night." Ayano said. "Until you leave. Either on your own or in a body bag." Ayano then pulled back the knife and got up from Amai. Then as Amai stood up, Ayano slapped Amai across the face and causing her to slip on her own liquids and fall face first. "And don't even think about telling Senpai. _I will know_." Ayano said as she climbed through the window she used to get into Senpai's house.

"Wh…Why…?" Amai asked quietly. She was cold, wet and she smelled really bad. She just wanted to cry.

"You called him _Senpai_." Ayano replied before leaving Amai to wallow in her own urine. Ayano actually felt a little proud of herself. Psychological warfare seemed so… natural to her. On her first attempt where she tried, she made her Rival wet herself, degrade her and made her extremely paranoid now. Now, she was planning her night visits as she biked her way home. Maybe mess with her by not showing up one day? Or maybe even skip school and spend a day torturing her? So many ways to damage the mind of Amai Odayaka that she couldn't count.

Ayano just laughed at the night sky as a new emotion rose from the very depths of her psyche: excitement.

"This is going to be _fun_."

Meanwhile Amai just sat there on the cold, wet kitchen floor, staring at the open window.

She really hoped she was in a nightmare.

She didn't say anything as she cleaned up her own mess. She didn't think about anything as she washed herself. She even felt numb as she vomited into the toilet. All she did was go back to Hanako's room, went to her futon and curled up into a fetal position, too traumatized to even shut her eyes. All she did was replay her recent experience through her head.

She didn't want to sleep anymore.

She couldn't

(Wednesday)

" **GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CALL THE COPS!** " Taro couldn't help but sigh as his own personal alarm clock woke him up.

"Osana Najimi. The reason why I don't own an alarm clock." Taro muttered to himself as he sat up, wincing at the soreness of his back. He opened his window when saw Osana did. Their bedrooms were in direct view of each other, so they would talk sometimes during the night. "Morning Osana. When did you get back from the hospital?"

"Morning Taro." Osana greeted, her face flushed with red after yelling so loudly. "Just a few minutes ago."

"So why did you…" Taro started, wondering why Osana was yelling early in the morning.

"Just… tying up a few loose ends." Osana replied as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Is it who I think it is?" Taro guessed.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that he'll come back." Osana said with a sigh. "Ugh, I really need to change my phone number. You know he calls me every week to try and get back together? He even threatened to do something to you last week."

"Damn… now I have your ex _and_ a psycho to watch out for." Taro muttered with a sigh as he lay back down onto his bed, not noticing that a certain Yandere was listening in before leaving a gift and dashing off to do… something. "Man, what the hell happened with our lives!?"

"Don't know." Osana sighed. "Some days I wish was back in middle school…"

"Me too." Taro groaned. There was a moment of silence before Taro remembered what he wanted to talk about. "So… what do we do… about us?"

"I thought we talked about this?" Osana pointed out.

"We didn't. We argued about it." Taro corrected.

"Who cares!?" Osana exclaimed. "We know we love each other, right?"

"Well, it's more complicated than that." Taro said. "I do love you but..."

"But…" Osana repeated.

"I really need time to think about this, alright?" Taro said. "I still see you as my best friend not… as some I'd date. It's… gonna be a while before I can actually see you as someone else. Plus, we kinda have a Yandere to take care of before someone gets hurt. Please, just wait a while." While Osana did feel a little frustrated, she couldn't but sigh as she realized it was probably for the best.

"Well… don't keep me waiting too long… you big dummy." Osana said as she puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. Taro couldn't help but giggle at how cute his childhood friend looked at the moment. "Anyway, is Odayaka-san alright? Is she safe?"

"She is." Taro said. "She stayed here over night and she should be going home soon."

"Then why is she behind you?" Osana asked. Taro jumped in his bed and turned around to see Amai at his door, fidgeting around with dark circles around her eyes. It looked like she hadn't slept all night.

"U-Um…" Amai muttered as she poked her fingers together. "C-C-Can I t-t-talk to y-y-y-you? In pr-p-pri-private?"

"Uh… okay?" Taro replied, giving an uneasy glance at Osana. He only received another uneasy glance before Taro took some painkillers and went out of his room with Amai. "So, what is it, Odayaka-san?" Amai couldn't help but blush at the use of her first name before she started talking.

"Can I stay here a little longer?" Amai asked.

"What? I thought we agreed that you'd go home today?" Taro questioned, looking a little confused.

"Well, you're still hurt and I'd feel too guilty to leave you alone." Amai lied. To be honest, she was a _little_ afraid to go outside these days and she _kinda_ needed to be around Taro to prevent herself from breaking down. The threats of her attacker still lingered inside her head, and she knew she should just leave him alone for the sake of her life…

But she owed Taro Yamada her life. She would not let this debt remain unpaid.

"Look, Odayaka-san, your parents are probably worried about you. And you can still go to school." Taro said. He was starting to get desperate. Who knows if the Yandere was listening in?

Meanwhile, Ayano sneezed and wiped her nose. "Hm. Strange. Must be dust." Ayano muttered to herself before she dumped Osana Najimi's ex-boyfriend into a rather deep grave, alive but unconscious, and started filling in the hole with dirt as quickly as possible. She was definitely late for school now, so she decided after this she would spend her time _observing_ Senpai today. Maybe leave him a gift.

"Just please go home." Taro said.

"I can't!" Amai said without thinking. When she saw Taro's concerned look, she started to panic. She really didn't have an excuse other that 'I want to be around you longer'.

Amai mentally paused when she thought that. Where did that come from?

"Why not?" Taro asked.

"My… parents aren't home. They are on… a business trip." Amai lied, very weakly. Meanwhile, Taro felt a shiver run down his spine. Now, Amai seemed like the type of person who wouldn't lie and the image of her alone, at the mercy of the Yandere, didn't sit well with him.

"Sure." Taro said almost automatically. He didn't know how traumatized Amai really was, and that stuff like being attacked wasn't going to go away anytime soon, but he had to keep her safe. Just for how long, however, was going to be a problem.

"Thank you Taro-senpai." Amai said as she bowed. Mentally, however, she was ecstatic. "I won't be too much of a burden. I'll help around the house and help you heal. I'll be like your own personal maid."

"It's fine Odayaka-san." Taro said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Thank God Hanako was at her school now. "Just… relax. Okay?"

"Of course, Taro-senpai." Amai said with a smile before remembering. "Oh! How is Osana-chan? I saw her through the window earlier."

"She's fine, though I'm guessing she won't be walking for a few days." Taro replied. Then, they stood in the hallway in silence, unable to think of anything else to talk about that wasn't about the harrowing experience they went through. "So… uh… I'm gonna go and talk to Osana now."

"Oh, well you did sleep through breakfast so I'm gonna go whip something up real quick." Amai said as she started walking backwards. "I'll… uh… bring it to your room… after I'm done… cooking."

"Er… thanks." Taro said as he stepped towards his bedroom door without taking his eyes off Amai. "Well then, uh, s-see ya later… I guess."

"Yeah. See ya, Taro-senpai." Amai said making her way to the kitchen and Taro went into his room.

"What were you talking about?" Osana asked after turning off her phone. Their conversation lasted for quite a while.

"You know what, I'm not entirely sure." Taro admitted. "She's gonna stay longer. I guess there's that."

"Taro!" Osana exclaimed. "What about the Yandere?"

"Well, we can't do anything about her right now." Taro explained. "All we can do now is watch over her until we figure out how we can get Odayaka-san off of the Yandere's hit list." Osana and Taro took some time to think about how to, until Osana got an idea.

"…The Yandere is in love with you… right?" Osana asked.

"Unfortunately." Taro answered with a sigh.

"And I love you." Osana continued.

"You know that's getting old." Taro said without thinking, before quickly changing his tune when Osana sent him a death glare. "I mean, yes! Of course, sweetie."

"Shut up, you baka." Osana said before asking one last question before finalizing her theory. "And who was the first girl that interacted with you in a nice way? Other than family members."

"Oh that would be… Odayaka-san." Taro said, now starting to get where Osana was going.

"Taro, your stalker thinks Odayaka-san is in love with you!" Osana exclaimed.

"Oh no…" Taro groaned. "Look, Odayaka-san and I are friends only! Nothing more!"

"It better be." Osana grumbled under her breath before returning to the conversation. "Well, it doesn't matter. Look you have to do is show the Yandere you aren't going to date her."

"Alright! Yeah, easy!" Taro said, hyping himself up before realizing a flaw. "But how we know when she's watching?"

"Don't know. Just keep rejecting her until you can get her out of the house." Osana suggested before getting an idea and reaching for her camera. "Wait a minute. Here's something better. I'll call you when I see something suspicious and signal you to reject her. Maybe I'll even see who our psycho is."

"I really hope this works." Taro said with a sigh.

"Hey, have you ever doubted me before?" Osana asked with a smirk before deadpanning as Taro opened his mouth. "Don't answer that." Suddenly, Taro heard his door click open as Ayano returned to her Senpai's house. Osana managed to get a glance of her a felt a rush of fear flow through her body. "Oh, crap! Taro! The Yandere is here! Do it!" She said quickly before laying down, hiding herself from Amai's view.

"Wha-!?" Taro exclaimed just as Amai entered the room, holding two plates of eggs and bacon.

"Do you mind if I eat with you?" Amai asked cutely with her big innocent eyes, the brightest smile that seemed to reach the eyes of men and women for kilometers, the soft expression on her face, the sweet-smelling food in her hands, the vulnerable yet confidant pose she had that accentuated her best features from her cute little toes to her light brown hair.

Taro just stared at her, speechless. 'Was she always like this?' He thought.

"Uh… Taro-senpai?" Amai spoke up, wondering why Taro seemed to space out before she snapped him to reality. "Your breakfast is going to get cold."

"Uh… uh… uh…" Taro tried to form sentences before just giving up and taking one of the plates off her hands. Amai assumed Taro was going to let her eat in his room so she sat down on his bed and started eating with him. Again, Amai's cooking couldn't be matched. The creaminess of the scrambled eggs, the saltiness of the bacon and just enough fat to not be overwhelming but enhance the favour. It was another master-

Wait a minute.

Now that he _really_ tasted his breakfast, something seemed… off about it. It was still good, nevertheless, but there was a slight aftertaste that he didn't really like that much. Did Amai put something else in the eggs? Or was the bacon cooked slightly differently?

"So, how is it?" Amai questioned.

"It's good." Taro replied. It was obvious that Amai took pride in her cooking and even a slight flaw in the taste would have a negative effect on her. He had to choose his words carefully. "What did you put in it?"

" _ **Nothing**_!" Amai shouted out, her body shivering as she choked back sobs. Taro freaked out at the sudden shouting before quickly becoming worried for her.

"A-Amai, what's wrong?" Taro asked softly.

"What's _wrong_!? I can't handle this anymore!" Amai cried out before leaning over and hugging Taro. "I… I m-met w-wi-w-with th-that p-p-p-person, f-fr-fro-f-from be-b-be-fore! S-She b-bro-broke i-i-in la-l-l-last ni-n-night and she... she,,,!"

"What!?" Taro exclaimed.

"Taro… she's gonna kill me…" Amai said quietly, her entire body shivering. She then showed Taro her tearful, afraid expression on her face. "I don't… I don't wanna…"

"Amai, it's okay." Taro said in a comforting tone. "I'm here for you. Osana is here for you. Just stay calm."

"I… I…" She sniffled before breaking down again and crying on his shoulder. "P-Please… take care of me… s-save me…"

Taro didn't know how to respond, he could only look at and pat the back of the girl he only knew for a few days. But… he felt like he would go to the ends of the Earth to stop anyone from making this girl sad. Taro couldn't help but start tearing up as well. He couldn't leave her alone…

He would never leave her alone.

"I promise." He whispered into her ear, hugging her as tightly as he could. "Amai…"

"Taro-kun…" Amai sobbed out as she cried freely. For some reason, her heart beat faster when he promised to protect her. She was supposed to be the one to help him off the ground and yet now… she couldn't stand without him there to see her.

Suddenly, it started to hit her.

Was she… falling in love with Taro Yamada?

As Osana stared at the scene from her window and felt a stab of jealousy and sadness, Ayano fumed silently, having listened in the conversation.

She…

She was going to pay.

And with that, she rang the doorbell, screwdriver in her panties and an intent to kill.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! Goddamn I'm actually sick while writing this. God, it's cold in Australia.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	6. Chapter 6: The Light

I really need to get this beta'd. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows! I really need to finish off Amai's arc because I have a lot of ideas for all the future rivals. Maybe I'll do it in this chapter, because I don't plan anything out or future plot points. I just have endings and cool stuff. Let's just get onto the reviews. To a random Guest: Osoro will be introduced at some point. Don't worry about that. To Reine de la Mort: Yeah, was never the best in seeing mistakes and I don't use my personal beta for this story for personal reasons, but for you and hopefully to fix it up, this will be beta'd for now on. Anyway, that's it! Now for waifu murder prevention!

And what I mean in prevention uh… doesn't exactly mean they're going to be okay throughout per se.

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 6: The Light

 _Don't get me wrong._

 _Don't mistake me for some knight in shining armor._

 _I never was, and I never will._

 _But… it doesn't stop me from trying to help._

 _To comfort. To calm down. To make sure that they can walk the next day with the ability to smile._

 _I may be no hero… but I will try to be the light within the darkness._

 _Ugh… Why am I feeling so dramatic during these?_

(Wednesday)

(Morning)

"It's going to be okay, Amai," Taro said in a comforting tone, stroking her face and wiping away tears as she laid her head on his lap as he sat on his bed. He admitting had no idea how he would protect her from the Yandere, but right now she needed someone, anyone, to help her in some way. "You're gonna be fine…"

'Please… Please don't lie to me…' Amai thought as she rubbed her face into his stomach. The warm feeling of his body was comforting, like fresh-baked, right-out-of-the-oven cookies she would make. But… to her, it felt much better than that. She didn't want to let go anytime soon.

When they heard the doorbell ring, Amai just wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as tight as she could.

"Please… just a little more time…" Amai begged quietly. "J-Just… Just ignore it…" As much as Taro didn't want to leave her alone, even if he would be only downstairs, he knew he shouldn't let the person wait any longer. It would be impolite and it could be something important.

"Just stay here. It'll only take a second." Taro said before getting up, biting back a groan as he felt his back ache from the movement.

"B…But she-the… my… that girl…" Amai was shivering as soon as she lost contact with Taro. She suddenly felt vulnerable and the feeling that her attacker was watching her, ready to strike as soon as he leaves.

"Amai, listen to me," Taro said as he grabbed her shoulders. "You are not in danger right now. You're safe. Just stay calm and relax." Amai just nodded as she started to take deep breaths. Meanwhile, Taro could now see Osana glaring at him from his window.

'Ugh… I really don't wanna deal with a jealous Osana right now.' Taro complained in his head before focusing back on Amai.

"It's going to be okay," Taro reassured the sweet girl. "I'll be back in a second."

"O-Okay… Taro-kun." Amai managed to get out. Taro let out a sigh of relief before leaving the room. Amai just pushed her knees into her chest and rocked in the boy's bed. "I'm safe… I'm safe…"

"What did the Yandere do to her…?" Osana whispered to herself. Only a few days ago the Cooking Club President was perfectly sane and happy. Now Osana could only see a girl on the verge of a breakdown. While she couldn't stop herself from feeling jealous, her feelings of guilt and pity were overpowering that emotion.

She could talk to her. Try to restore her sanity or at least alleviate her stress and anxiety.

Actually, she should talk to her. Maybe get her to back from Taro because he was her's first and-

'No! Stop thinking like you're his girlfriend!' Osana mentally scolded herself. 'That might come true later but right now just shut up and talk to her, idiot.'

"Ah… Ah…" Osana tried to say something, but couldn't. Something in her mind was holding her back. She sighed before letting her head fall onto her pillow. This whole thing was a lot more difficult than she imagined. "Just speak to her Osana!"

"Huh?"

Meanwhile, downstairs, Taro yawned before attempting to crack his back. He immediately regretted that decision. "Guh! Smart move, Yamada…" Taro said sarcastically with a wince. He heard the doorbell ring and again. "I'm coming!" He yawned again, wondering who would be visiting at this time, and made his way to the front door, undoing the locks before opening it. "Hello?" Taro greeted before he saw a nervous wreck of a girl in front of him. "Huh? A-Aishi-san?"

"S-Sen… Sen… S-S-S-Sen…" Ayano tried with all her might not to react when she heard Senpai's voice. The very area of Senpai's home was causing her to lose focus. Hell, she even brought him a second gift by accident. The first was a box of Get Well Soon chocolates, but in her hands was a bag of heart-shaped cookies she made last night after she made Amai Odayaka severely traumatized. She didn't even sleep, she spent all night perfecting them and filling each one with love… and strands of her hair but that wasn't important. At best it was a minor detail.

Anyway, back to Yan-chan quietly freaking out.

She honestly planned on Odayaka opening the door, so she could stab her in the neck, but when she heard the voice that she could never get out of her head, she panicked. Killing right in front of Senpai's home was a risky move already, but confronting him with a gift was just too much for her heart to take.

So, she was frozen. Shaking on the spot as Senpai's second gift bounced in her hands.

"Hm? Uh… Aishi-san? Hello?" Taro wondered if she was alright. She was just standing, making some sort of noise as she held a bag in her hands. It was actually starting to freak him out, honestly. "Aren't you supposed to be going to school?" Taro asked, seeing that Ayano was in her school uniform.

"G-G… G-Get Well…. S-S-Soon…" Ayano managed to make some comprehensible words. "I… I…"

"Is… Is this for me?" Taro asked as he looked at the bag in question. Ayano just nodded and held it out for him as she bowed.

"P-Please ac-ac-a-a-accept t-th-t-t-t-this." Ayano stuttered out.

"That's… That's really sweet." Taro admitted, feeling a blush coming to his cheeks as he took the bag. "Thank you, Aishi-san. You're really nice, you know that?"

'Sen-Senpai praised me!' Ayano screamed in her head as Taro looked down and spotted something near her feet.

"A box of chocolates?" Taro said as he picked it up. "You didn't bring this as another gift too?" Ayano's instincts told her to shout to the world yes but her… rational side said otherwise.

'If I say yes, he'll think I'm weird that I didn't give both!' Ayano thought. 'Then he'll think I'm weird and he won't accept my confession and I need to lie.'

"Uh… Uh… N-No, S-Senpai." Ayano said, trying her best to murder her stutter. "I-I uh… s-saw someone, a-a-a-a girl, l-leave it here."

"Really?" Taro said, wondering why a girl would leave a gift but not ring the doorbell, before remembering what Osana said before Amai entered the room with breakfast.

It was the Yandere.

The Yandere left a box of chocolates on his doorstep.

"Aishi-san, did you know who it was?" Taro asked quickly as he looked out the door. If Ayano knew, maybe she could him some clues onto who attacked Osana and Amai. Meanwhile, however, said Yandere growled quietly under her breath. She guessed when Senpai returns to school, he would go and find the girl, even though she didn't exist, and praise her as well.

It may lead to the creation of another rival. She couldn't allow that.

"I… I'm n-not sure." Ayano lied. "A-All I know… i-is that i-it was a girl…"

"That's all I need, Aishi-san. Thank you." Taro said with a smile before looking at the chocolates and frowned. "I'll… I'll see you at school." Ayano nodded as he shut the door. It took all of her willpower not to faint or do anything embarrassing like wetting herself or having an orgasm.

"He… He praised me twice…" Ayano said dreamily, completely forgetting her plans as she started making her way back home. She was too late for homeroom so she decided it would be best if she stayed home for the day. It allowed her time to savor the face she had been praised. Oh, she wished she started a voice recording on her phone.

But the fact that Senpai would have her DNA inside him for a little while satisfied her for now.

After Taro shut the door, he automatically stuffed the box of chocolates into the family garbage bag and tied it up, planning to get rid of it as soon as he could. For all he knew, those chocolates were laced with a tranquilizer or something. Something to leave him vulnerable for kidnapping. Maybe even poison since the Yandere knew Amai was staying here.

He couldn't take any chances.

Just to make sure, he washed his hands thoroughly before taking a quick shower. Just the thought of any trace of the slightly melted chocolate being still on him after that made him paranoid. After redressing into his pajamas, he went into his room.

He smiled when he was greeted with the sight and sound of Amai and Osana talking.

While he was dealing with Ayano, one of them must've started talking and he couldn't be happier. Even after all that happened to her, there was still the girl who could brighten even the darkest nights with either her smile, attitude or her outlook in life.

"Uh, I'm back." He announced as he went back to his bed. "I see you girls are getting along."

"O-Oh! Taro-kun." Amai said as she turned around, a blush adorning her face. "We were… We were talking about… things…"

"I'm guessing it's girl stuff then," Taro said.

"Yeah, no boys allowed, baka," Osana replied with a smirk.

"I was just thanking her for trying to help from… from last time." Amai said, her body shivering as she scooted closer to her senpai. "You two are really brave."

"And look how that turned out," Osana said with a sigh. "But thank you, Amai-chan. I needed that."

"It's no problem." Amai giggled out.

"So, how long are you going to stay?" Taro asked. "You shouldn't be cooped up in here with me. I'd probably bore you to death."

'You're never boring, Taro-kun. At least to me…' Amai thought before shaking her head before looking out the bedroom window. The sun was bright and the sky was clear, yet she felt a shudder run up her spine. She looked at Taro again and felt her chest warm up.

Now that she realized it, she felt so cold when he wasn't in the room with her.

"I'm s-sorry Taro-kun." Amai said with a sigh. "But… I don't think I have the heart to leave you… leave you…"

"Alone?" Taro guessed what Amai was trying to say.

"No," Amai said as she clutched her chest. "Just… leave you…"

"Look Amai, you really need to leave," Taro stated. "You're going to be attacked again if you're here any longer. The person who attacked you… she attacked Osana too. She's trying to get to me, Amai. And I don't want you to get caught up in all this."

"Trying to… get to you?" Amai repeated, pushing down the rush of anger when she heard that Najimi-san liked him.

"I think… I know that she… she wants me." Taro said. "She attacked Osana because she likes me and she attacked you…"

"Because I like you…" Amai finished quietly before correcting herself. "I mean, she thinks I like you."

"That's right," Taro said with a nod. "I'm just going to put you in danger. Please, for my sake, leave…"

"But… But I need you…" Amai said, tears starting to fill her eyes again.

"No, you don't," Taro said firmly. "I may not have known you for long but… you're stronger than this."

"No… No, I'm not…" Amai replied in a shaky voice, the memories that shattered her will were coming back to crush it into dust. "She… I'm… I'm just pathetic…"

"Amai, listen to me," Taro said, knowing that she was about to go into a dark place if he didn't stop her. "Whatever happened last night, whatever she said; it doesn't matter. Her words don't matter. You shouldn't think about them. She isn't someone you should listen to, okay? Then, only words that should matter to you are your own."

'Your words matter more.' Amai couldn't help but think. It was shocking her how hard she had fallen for him in just a short time. Maybe it was the traumatic experiences, or maybe it was just him in general. She just… She just couldn't imagine him being out of her life now.

"I… I just need to think." Amai sighed out. "But… thank you, for trying to help me."

"You're welcome," Taro replied. "Let's just… try and ignore this entire thing for now. Try and relax. We have a few days off school after all. May as well enjoy it."

"That… That would be nice." Amai admitted. "Just me and you… alone…"

All day, the Cooking Club President couldn't stop smiling as she enjoyed her time with Taro. While Osana was pleasant company, she just liked being with the boy who tried to save her life more than his childhood friend.

While it was very slow going with her recovery, she still couldn't hold a knife without thinking back to her attacks and the fact she wasn't going to sleep tonight, Taro was just glad that Amai's confidence and sanity was healing. He knew she wasn't going to leave anytime soon, and he really hoped she would, but right now everything was fine for the most part.

His friendship with Osana was repaired and he made a new friend. Of course, the Yandere was always in the forefront of his mind. He was still very paranoid but after the hell that was last week, it was nice to let go of his worries, ignore the world around him and just enjoy the little things like he did back in middle school.

No drama, no dating, no tests, no killers, no entrance exams. Just a couple of kids trying to make the most of their free time.

Plus, Aishi-san's cookies were delicious. He would have to ask her to give him the recipe when he got back to school.

Osana does mention he makes a mean bento a lot over the years (Despite saying otherwise every time. He thought it was cute). Maybe he should make her one and tell her to tie up her hair next time.

(Thursday)

(Morning)

It was another day in the nearly empty Aishi household and Ayano opened her eyes once again. She sometimes wondered why she got up at times. She didn't care about a lot of stuff. Everything was just… noise to her. Useless things that should be ignored. Food tasted the same, colors were as bright as black and white, and words were just that. Words. They had meaning to them, but it didn't mean Ayano could look past those words for deeper meanings. Huh, no wondered she sucked at Literature.

But then, her mind reminded her about her light.

"Senpai…" Ayano sighed out dreamily as she got up to do her morning routine. If she did it quickly enough, she could stop by Senpai's Sanctuary before heading for school. Her day would not be complete without the sight of her light bringer.

But then her thoughts darkened when she remembered who was currently staining Senpai's home with her filth.

She needed her gone. Info-chan's message from last Monday was still in her head: Senpai would fall in love with Amai Odayaka by Friday, guaranteed. Despite her efforts so far, she had only pushed her closer to him, traumatized but not ready to realize Senpai was hers alone.

She needed that one last push to get her over the edge, to break her sanity to itty bitty pieces. But how she would do that was the problem. Senpai was now aware of her breaking and entering, so he would most likely be ready to strike and then he would know her identity.

But what if it wasn't her that pushed Amai Odayaka over the edge?

Ayano groaned to herself. She would need to take some panty shots today. A lot of panty shots. And maybe her own panties if it wasn't enough.

The things she did for love.

(Afternoon)

"Taro-kun… no! It's too sudden!" Amai cried out. Her whole body was shaking at the sight. "D-Don't push!"

"Amai, it's okay. I won't hurt you." Taro replied in a comforting tone.

"B-But… it's so big! It's gonna hurt me!"

"No, it isn't. It's normal-sized. And don't exaggerate. You've done this plenty of times before this."

"Taro, can you please hurry up!" Osana said impatiently, tapping her foot all the while. "Your parents are going to be home soon."

"I'm trying!" Taro grunted out. He had been trying for a while now to no avail. "Amai, relax! It'll only be a few seconds and then we're done. C'mon, we've been talking about it with Osana for a long time yesterday."

"St-Stop! You're hurting me! Be gentler!" Amai sobbed out. "Please, it's not a safe day!"

"Then when is it going to be!?" Osana called out.

"Wh-When I'm ready!" Amai said. "I-I'm just not emotionally ready yet! My heart can't take it!"

"Ugh! We aren't getting anywhere today. Give it up Taro." Osana sighed out.

"Fine…" Taro said in defeat as he stopped pushing against Amai. The gentle girl sighed in relief as she stopped gripping the doorframe and stumbled back, exhausted yet satisfied. "This isn't healthy, you know? Your parents are gonna wonder why their daughter isn't coming home eventually."

"I-I still need time…" Amai said as she hugged herself. 'And… I still need you…' Amai mentally added as she glanced at Taro.

"Well, that's obvious…" Osana grumbled to herself from the couch. It hurt to walk right now, but at this rate, she should be back by Monday. Taro was already cleared by the doctors this morning but stayed so he could help out the Cooking Club President. "You can't even go into a backyard without suffering a panic attack, let alone be at school. Your club is gonna fall apart without their president."

"I-I have a substitute," Amai said. "She's still learning but she's…"

"That's not the point!" Osana interrupted. "Even without the Yandere out to get you, you need to leave sooner or later. You're worrying me, Amai-chan."

"It's just… It's just…" Amai tried to explain herself, but she just kept repeating those two words. "It's just…"

"It's okay, Amai," Taro said as he patted her back. "But just so you know, I'm going back to school tomorrow, with or without you. And Osana's going back on Monday."

"No! Don't leave me!" Amai begged as she pressed her nose lightly onto the floor. "I just need… I just need more time…!"

"I have a feeling you're gonna keep saying that if I let you," Taro muttered. "I'm sorry, Amai, but I really can't do much about it. I can't afford to miss out any more days."

"But… But…" Amai said before getting up and running to his room.

"She's not gonna be leaving anytime soon, huh," Osana said, staring at the stairs. "God, this is frustrating… I know should be more patient with her but… the Yandere…"

"I'm gonna stay up tonight," Taro said. "The Yandere didn't uh… meet with her last night and she looks like she's about to collapse on her feet. I'm worried that the Yandere's planning something, so I'm not taking any chances."

"You can count me in too, Taro," Osana said. However, he looked rather skeptical.

"Osana, you can barely stay up past midnight. Are you really sure you can stay up that late?" Taro asked.

"I'll put on some coffee," Osana replied. "I'll be fine."

(Evening)

'She's asleep.' Taro deadpanned in his head, seeing his childhood friend resting her head on her windowsill, listening to her quiet snoring. He didn't want to talk or else he'd tip off Amai, who was still wide awake. He knew that because she moved her futon into his room. 'Well, I'm probably better off. She's a little too loud for stealth. I swear to God if she heard me say that she'd kill me.' He pulled his blanket over his face as soon as he heard Osana glare in her sleep. Though, now that he thought about it, he was still tired from trying to get Amai to go outside. Maybe a quick nap won't hurt…

'Come on, Odayaka. Sleep.' Amai thought to herself as she stared at the ceiling. 'And… sleep! Sleep!' She then sighed to herself as she rolled to her side. 'It's no use. It's… It's her. She's getting to me. I-I need something to drink.' Amai got up and as quietly as she could, left Taro's room. It wasn't even that cold of a night and yet she still shivered. The darkness of the household was already getting to her.

"Just get a glass of water and go to sleep, Amai. You can do this." She told herself as she made her way downstairs. "She isn't here. She isn't watching. She's… She's…" Suddenly, Amai froze.

Someone was in the house.

"TA-" She tried to scream out but her mouth was covered before she could alert anyone.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch." The intruder growled. It was a woman, but she didn't have the same eyes she had come to fear. It wasn't her attacker. It was someone else. But it didn't matter. She was hyperventilating. Suddenly, she blinded, probably by the woman's flashlight. "Looks like you're my target."

'What?' Amai managed to think before she felt a hand grip her throat painfully. She was choking her.

"She always gives me the fun contracts, huh…" the woman mumbled to herself. Info-chan knew about her other talents, but she primarily used her for torture. Not torture and interrogation. Just flat out torture. Not that she was complaining. Money was money and hell, it wasn't a job worth doing if she didn't enjoy it. "Well, I have until morning to break you." She said as she licked Amai's cheek slowly. "I only need an hour."

"No no no no…" Amai choked out. She was already crying. "Help. Someone… help…"

 **(READER-KUN! READER-KUN! You're now approaching a very bad scene that is necessary for the plot! Midori-chan recommends you skip this part if you can't stomach this type of thing. Your waifu will be saved after this part; don't worry about that if you choose to skip! But remember, don't blame Uknown-kun if you do read it and hate it! Unless it's just bad writing! Midori-chan, out! :3)**

"No one can save you, honey." The intruder whispered into her ear. "You're alone. I don't even need to kidnap you. You aren't worth the effort." Amai tried to shout again but the grip on her throat tightened as she wrapped duct tape around her head, silencing her. She struggled, but soon enough all her limbs were tied together and she was placed on the living room couch. "Could've used rope, but I think this is all you deserve. No, I'm not cruel. So, what will it be? The slow and wonderful way or the fast and un-fun way?"

'Please… Oh God… Someone… anyone!' Amai thought as she tried to scream again, but now the duct tape was muffling her voice and she was never the loudest person anyway. 'I don't wanna die…'

"Oh!" The intruder let out a fake gasp. "The slow way? But that involves my tools, and I'm not sure you're ready for it, honey." Amai only cried more in response. "But if you insist…" Amai tried to see where the intruder went was received a slap to the face. "Ah ah ah! No peeking…"

'I'm gonna die…' Amai thought in horror. 'I'm gonna die…'

"Now, I know some people out there who are into this kind of thing…" the intruder said as she came back with a battery and jumper cables. "Tell me Amai-chan, under all that sweet and kind bullshit, is there a whore that loves pain?"

'I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die…'

"How about we experiment a little then?" the intruder said as she pulled out a knife and slowly and lightly glided it down Amai's neck. It was already drawing blood. Then it one quick motion, she sliced opened her shirt and bra and threw her knife to the side. "My, what perky breasts you have." She said as she grabbed the jumper cables and connected them to the car battery.

'I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die…'

"Let's perk them up a little more, shall we?" She said as she attached them to her nipples. They were cold and it already was the worst pain she could ever feel due to her fear amplifying everything she could feel. "Don't worry; it'll only hurt a little."

She didn't add the fact that this was her least painful method.

As soon as Amai felt it, she screamed. Her body convulsed uncontrollably as electricity ran through her body. She fell off the couch and flopped around on the ground. It felt like she was on fire from the inside out.

"And… stop." The intruder said as pulled off the jumper cables. Amai couldn't cry anymore. The electricity fried her tears. Instead, it was replaced by copious amounts of drool that seeped through the tape. It took a while for her aftershocks to wear off. "I think you pissed yourself back there. Unless it's what I think it is."

'I'm going to die. I'm going to die.' Amai thought. Even in her head, she was tired. 'I'm going to die. I'm going to die.'

"Still, I think we still need to test out your endurance." The intruder said as she lifted up her duffle bag. "I could pluck your nails one by one, get rid of those pesky kneecaps, oh! I'll definitely be taking a few of your teeth before I'm done. Ah, while I'm picking something better, here you go." She said as before pulling out a pair of a pair of clunky-looking headphones. "These things go to 160 dB at a minimum, had to hire a guy to make it. I hope you enjoy a little waiting music."

'I… I…' Amai couldn't bear it anymore. She wasn't going to come out of this alive. She just resigned to her fate. 'Please… just kill me already…' She thought as the headphones were placed over her ears.

"Hey, where's my favorite crowbar?" The intruder wondered out loud.

"RIGHT HERE!" Before the intruder could see who yelled, her world went white.

 **(READER-KUN! READER-KUN! The bad stuff is now over! Time for Waifu-Saving Time! Wow, that should've been a lot worse but the author was way too uncomfortable writing it! Midori-chan, out! :3)**

"I'm so sorry!" Taro said as he ran up to the tied-up girl and threw off the headphones. "I should've been here sooner!"

'S-Senpai…?' Amai thought, her body felt like it was made of lead. 'Taro…'

"You have to get out of here! As soon as you're out, run as far as you can." Taro said frantically as he grabbed the knife the intruder had and used it to get Amai's feet unbound. "Call the police!" He said as he ripped off Amai's gag. As soon as he did, Amai saw something behind him.

"TARO!" She shouted out as she and Taro dodged the crowbar aimed at their heads, with Taro dropping the knife as he fell to the floor.

"Come here you piece of shit!" The intruder growled out, the side of her head bleeding profusely. "I'm fucking going to kill you first before this bitch!"

"AH!" Taro screamed out as he narrowly rolled away from another swing. "Holy…"

"Oh… I gonna have fun with you… I just wished I didn't drug your family, I would've loved to let them listen to you scream…" The intruder said as she licked her lips, the taste of her own blood fueling her desire to kill. Taro didn't know what else to do. This wasn't a small teenage girl he could just punch out cold. It was an adult woman that could easily kill him if she wasn't so angry.

For a second, Taro was thankful he managed to piss off a hit _woman_.

Taro scrambled up to his feet, dived for the woman's bag of torture equipment and grabbed the first thing he could get.

Which turned out to be a spiky rod that was about 8 inches in length. No guesses what that is and what it's for.

"You're sick, you know that," Taro said as he held out his weapon.

"Been called worse." The intruder said with a smirk before charging at the boy. Taro swung, but the intruder easily dodged it and punished him for such a weak attack by swinging her crowbar upwards right between his legs.

It was safe to say that he went down pretty quickly.

Before he could recover, the woman jumped on top of his and begun a swing for his head. However, she didn't pin Taro's arms down so he quickly blocked the crowbar with his weapon. His left hand bled as he made the mistake of holding the spiked part of the weapon, but he had no choice as the woman was quickly overpowering him with each strike, every single one having enough power to crack his head open. He couldn't hold her off forever.

But then, with one last strike… she stopped.

Taro, who had been closing his eyes the entire time, opened his eyes to see the intruder frozen in shock. "I… I…" she managed to get out, unable to comprehend what happened to her.

"Get. Off him." Amai said slowly, twisting the knife she used to free her hands and stab the intruder in the spine.

"I… can't feel my legs…" The intruder said before dropping her crowbar and collapsing on top of Taro. He quickly pushed her off him as Amai grabbed his weapon.

"Your words… they don't matter… nothing you've said actually matters to me…" Amai breathed out before tightening her grip on her torturer's favorite tool. "Everything…"

"You… You…"

"SHUT UP!" Amai yelled out as she smacked her in the head. "SHUT UP!" She continued to yell as she went for another.

And another.

And another.

And another.

Until Taro had to stop her. "Amai! Stop! You're gonna kill her!" He shouted out, knowing that the woman had been unconscious for a while now. He didn't dare look at what happened to the woman's skull, only focusing his attention to Amai Odayaka, topless and holding a bloody weapon.

Suddenly, Amai came to her senses.

"Wha… What…?" She got out before seeing what she ha done. It should've horrified her; the violence she just committed to another human being was unforgivable. She could've killed someone.

But… it didn't.

She felt… fine. Calm. All her worries, her stress, her pain, her sorrow… it was all gone.

"Amai…" Suddenly, Taro's voice snapped her out of her trance and caused her to drop the weirdly-sized spiky bat out of her hands.

"T-Taro-kun… I…" Amai said as she continued to stare at her work. Why did this satisfy her? Was it because she got revenge? Was it just because of everything, from her encounters with the Yandere and her fear, just built up to this moment?

No, she knew. She knew all along.

It was because she was going to hurt someone… hurt Taro…

Hurt the one who was her light within the darkness.

"I… love…" She whispered out.

"Hm? Amai? What are you-" He was wondering what she was muttering to herself about, but the next thing he knew… well, he didn't see it coming.

She turned to him and kissed him on the lips.

Immediately, Taro noticed her lips were really soft. Softer than anything he had felt before. She tasted and smelled like cinnamon, as well. And her eyes, oh those shining green eyes, he swore it was lighting up the room. Before he knew it, he was losing himself to the kiss. Slowly closing his eyes, he just wanted to feel the pleasant sensations her lips gave to him. It wasn't rushed, it wasn't sloppy, both of them refusing to use their tongues. Just the act of pressing their lips together was enough.

When they pulled away, they couldn't help but stare into each other's eyes. "I love you, Taro-senpai." Amai said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to let you go… not now, not forever…"

"Amai…" Taro mumbled out before wrapping his arms around her back.

That's when they snapped back to reality.

Amai was completely naked from the waist up, there was blood messing up his PJs and they had a woman lying on the floor who could be dying right now. And that's not considering his drugged up parents and sibling and the mess they made.

"…"

"…"

"…I'm going get dressed."

"While you're at it, I gonna go call the cops and an ambulance."

"That sounds good."

(Friday)

(Morning)

"Hey," Taro said, stopping his pace to school. It was a complete nightmare last night, to the cops questioning them and Hanako and Osana crying (Osana was bawling more, and would've killed him if she ever found out he kissed Amai). He didn't sleep for more than a few minutes before he had to go to school.

But he couldn't help but smile to himself as he looked at the person substituting for Osana today.

"Hm?" Amai hummed. She had promised to walk with him to school before she headed straight home. Her parents were going to go through hell as soon as they heard the news. "Is there something wrong, Taro-kun?"

"Are you really sure you wanna go back to school so soon?" Taro asked with a skeptical expression on his face. "I mean… after last night…"

"I think I needed last night," Amai admitted. "Plus, I wanna catch my real attacker. The one after your heart."

"Oh, right." Taro groaned out. The intruder, whose name turned out to be Mazo Meinu, was assumed to be the one who attacked them the first time. As soon as she was out of the prison hospital, she was not going to see the light of day for a very long time, especially when they found evidence and linked her to various other crimes. They didn't correct the police during this, they just wanted to sleep. "So, I'm going to take a wild guess and say I can't convince you to stay out of this?"

"No-puh!" Amai happily replied. "I promise, I'll be your light. Just tell me what to point at and I'll do my best to reveal everything."

"That's a pretty crappy metaphor…" Taro chuckled out.

"That's mean," Amai said. "I'm gonna go try and ask people around school. See if they know anything that could help."

"Oh boy, this isn't going to be easy…" Taro sighed out.

"We are dealing with a psycho." Amai pointed out before running ahead. "C'mon, Taro-senpai! We're going to be late!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Taro called back before sighing and looking up at the sky. "Why can't my life be simple…" He muttered to himself before catching up to the girl he didn't know exist until lunch that fateful Monday.

The girl he had also fallen in love with.

Save Game… Quit!

Oh God! Whew! Next up is Kizuna Sunobu and I actually have a plan for her arc! As well as Oka Ruto! But, now Yan-chan's going to be much more involved with these girls so don't miss a thing!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	7. Chapter 7: The Actress

And… doing another chapter before I actually finish another chapter for a different story. UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows! Been a while a new updates to the game means more narrative opportunities! I mean, I really need to update more but I kinda have uni… I really look up to YanDev, and since I'm too nervous/not skilled enough yet to help out I may as well keep people into the game by writing.

Anyway, onto the reviews! To Lillafor and the random Guest: Okay, I kinda admit that the plan of this story was going to be that most of the girls actually survived, but now you just kinda made it darker considering what I can think of. Still, I'm getting the feeling that I'll be too guilty to write their neutralizations. Besides, I've only done two girls and Ayano is learning from her past mistakes. She's going to be more and more lethal as the story goes on… which I hope I can nail. To another Guest: Yes, the woman is an OC. I just Google translated her name from, I think, Sadist Masochist or something.

Anyway, that's it for now! Let another waifu enter the stage!

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 7: The Actress

 _I'm not sure… If I can do this._

 _I've screwed up so many times already, and it always led to someone close to me nearly dying._

 _I'm just a human… but I have to be much more to save those around me._

 _I can't give up, even when it's hopeless._

 _I can't just walk away, or else people will die and it'll be my fault._

 _And I just can't back down. For what she did to me, Amai-chan and Osana and everyone else I don't know about whose lives were ended by her._

 _Because I know._

 _I have to be the one to stop her._

(Friday)

Ayano didn't know what to expect when she went school today. It was reeling from the assault and the atmosphere had dropped significantly for the past few days. The attacker was (obviously) not caught yet (and hell she'll ever will be until she got Senpai), students were signing up to Martial Arts in droves and a lot of people were scared for their lives. However, things seemed to be… brighter.

She saw people going back to their daily routines, smiling. Forgetting the fact that only a few days ago that their fellow classmates nearly died.

And she would like to keep it that way.

She had been reckless. Going for full-frontal assaults, trying to kill her rivals up-front just to satisfy this growing bloodlust that awakened inside here, wanting to see those _bitches and whores die like the dogs they were_.

But not today forth.

She was studying intently in class and had learnt about a plethora of things she could use to help in her eliminations should the time come once again. She was sure Amai Odayaka was dead and with Osana no longer pursuing him (as far as she knew), she was free to confess to him her undying love.

But, just in case a new rival shows up. She's going to wait and observe until next Friday, just to make sure no one but herself is going to confess to him.

 _Because no one will ever see them again if they tried._

The bell rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. She must've lost herself in her _fun_ thoughts again. She was going to be late at this rate. Wasting no more time, she started heading to class just before Taro and Amai entered through the gates together.

"Are you really sure you wanna come back to school after… everything?" Taro had to ask, just to make it certain that she was getting involved in something rather dangerous and there was no backing out. He knew full well that Amai knew what she was getting into; he was just worried about her and didn't want her to get hurt.

Plus, he's kinda scared of Amai and the fact she was perfectly capable of killing someone.

"Taro, I keep telling you. I'm gonna help, and that's final." Amai said. "I just… this is too big for just the two of you. You need more help." She then blushed as she looked away. "I… I love you after all…"

"E-Er…" Taro blushed as well. Just his luck, _two_ girls were in love with him… and unfortunately, so was he. Maybe? He was still sorting out his feelings but it wasn't important right now. He just wanted to get through the school day so he could take Amai back home and spend his Sunday with Osana. "U-Uh… the bell just rang so we should probably go…"

"Oh… right. I'll… I'll see you soon." Amai said as she reluctantly walked off without him. Taro could only stare at her retreating form before sighing.

"I wish I had a normal love life." Taro groaned out as he pinched the bridge of his nose before walking to his first class.

(Afterschool)

 **Yandere-chan:** She's still alive.

 **Info-chan:** I've noticed it. It was on the news this morning.

 **Yandere-chan:** She's STILL alive.

 **Info-chan:** That's what you get for having someone take care of the job for you.

 **Yandere-chan:** I am done talking to you.

 **Info-chan:** Hey hey hey. Let's not get too hasty with assumptions. Unfortunately, the one I hired to carry out the hit liked to play with her victims so eventually she was going to screw up.

 **Info-chan:** So, I'd recommend doing your eliminations personally. Plus, there's only so much panty shots can sell for. Don't worry, I have few new… toys available for you to help you.

 **Info-chan:** Don't worry, in due time Senpai will be yours.

 **Yandere-chan:** He already is.

"Oi! Ayano-san, please stop using your phone. We have an emergency!" The vice president of the Drama Club called out, causing Ayano to put away her phone. She didn't want to be here anymore, these duties to the club were interrupting her Senpai time and she already squeezed out everything she could get out this nest of liars. She should quit so she could focus all her efforts in winning Senpai's affections.

Still, it was never a bad idea to brush up on falsifying personas.

"Sorry, Vice President. What's the matter?" Ayano asked, acting as if she cared. She didn't even know the names of her club mates. They were background characters to her.

"The matter!? The **matter** is that our play, that we've been planning to do for weeks, is _ruined_. **RUINED**!" The VP cried overdramatically, desperately attempting to keep his fake British accent up. "The **importance** of the masks were the heart, the _soul_ , of the play. And thanks to the assaults all masks have been banned! What kind of _inconsiderate_ person would _**ruin**_ such a promising performance!?"

"…Someone got assaulted while wearing one of our masks." A fellow club member pointed out. The VP only scoffed at this.

"All the more reason to blame them." The VP said, causing the other members to look disgusted.

"He's only pissed because he wrote the play." Another fellow club member whispered into Ayano's ear, thinking she wouldn't be used to the Vice President's personality. "Don't worry, newbie. Kizana-buchou will be coming back here on Monday. She's been away working on a web series that's gonna be released next month. Oh… I hope it's good."

"So now, we have to do another play. Oh, such woe before our yearly debut!" The VP cried out. "Why must another story be told!? My one is full of tragedy, action and comedy! A perfect blend of-"

"Oh come on! You just copied Persona 5, you plagiarizing prick!" Club member #4 shouted out. "You just threw ninjas that get naked in it! And this isn't just about your dumb play! The club's funding is gonna be cut if we don't have a play to show them!"

"We-Well I may I have borrowed some things…" And that was about all Ayano was going to listen to as the club devolved into chaos, allowing her to slip out while they were busy.

Just in time to see Taro walking with Amai, holding hands.

"You… will… _die…_!" Ayano growled out before suppressing her urge to kill. No, not now. Not only would a murder of passion lead to her making a messy job, but she would also allow Senpai to see her. And that could not be allowed.

She was not confirmed to be in a relationship with Senpai, so she needed to collect some information.

Pulling out her knife from her panties, she started doing what she did best: Staring at Senpai from afar.

"Thanks for walking me home, Taro." Amai said as they walked.

"No problem. Your parents must be worried sick for being away for so long and you know… _she_ could be watching." Taro replied as they took a quick look around, causing Ayano to stop breathing as she tried to keep herself hidden. When they saw they were alone in the street (as far as they knew), they continued their conversation.

"Don't worry Taro; last night will never happen again." Amai said in a dark tone as she casually pulled out a knife from seemingly out of nowhere, freaking Taro out. "A part of me… A part of me died that night. From now on, whoever tries and puts you or Osana in danger, I will gladly _end their fucking life_!"

"Amai!" Taro called out, getting the crazed look to leave her eyes.

"S-Sorry, just… thinking about her just makes me mad." Amai admitted as she put away the knife. "But I'm not giving up until this… this _bitch_ is either dead or behind bars."

"Amai, you're not a killer." Taro stated firmly. "I don't want her dead, even if she wants you or anyone else dead. We aren't going down that path." Amai shook her head as she realized what she just said.

"T-Taro, sorry. Just…" Amai said as she looked down. "…Please… don't die… Don't… leave me…"

"I-I'll try." Taro replied, not sounding very confident at the moment. When they finally reached her house, they look at each other in the eye. "We're here."

"Yeah." Amai said in a soft voice. "Do you… Do you want to come inside…?"

Both of them quickly blushed as they both knew what the Cooking Club President was implying.

"I…" Taro got out before he felt his phone vibrate. "Uh, sorry, I gotta-"

"It's okay. I need to get some sleep anyway. I'll… I'll see you around." Amai said as she separated from Taro and went to the front door. She took one last look at her love before unlocking the door. As soon as the door shut, Taro groaned before taking out his phone. It was a text from Osana.

Meanwhile, Ayano pulled out her own phone and quickly texted Info-chan for another favour: Eavesdrop on Senpai's texts for a little bit. She couldn't hear anything from where she was, but as soon as she saw Senpai pull out his phone, she knew that in order to keep herself hidden she had to stay one step ahead. And despite Info-chan's hacking abilities; the Saikou Anti-Hack programs were very tight and she could only do it for a limited amount of time so she had to make it count.

 **Rival1:** taro where are you its getting late

 **Senpai:** I was taking Amai home. Should be back by 5.

 **Rival1:** too slow you promised to hang out with me to apologize for making me worried

 **Senpai:** Still caring I see. And use capitals and punctuation. It's not that much of a time waster.

 **Rival1:** Just come home!

"Useless…" Ayano grumbled quietly to herself.

"Good to see she's still the same old Osana…" Taro said as a nostalgic smile grew on his face. "Maybe I should bring over some of my old games. I wonder if my Yario Kart disc still works…" He wondered out loud as he made the journey back home, Ayano in tow to make sure he made it safely.

And maybe get herself a new souvenir along the way. Her Shrine's looking a little empty.

(Monday)

(Early Morning)

Today is a new day.

This was a lesson she was taught as soon as she started acting.

Whatever came her way, things that would push her forward or pull her back; she always knew what to do. To take advantage of the situation or at the very least avoid disaster. This was what fate had given her, and she was determined to make the most of it.

She demanded perfection in everything, from her daily routine to the plays she acted in since she was nothing but a small girl studying her script day in and day out. That's what got her here today, the second most popular in Akademi High (under Megumi Saikou. Stupid bitch.) and the surrounding area. But soon, she would conquer this school and then her fame would reach outside this town. It would reach to other cities, other states and eventually the entire world.

By the time she's twenty, everyone will know the name of Kizana Sunobu.

"Oh! Sunobu-senpai! You're back!" Ah, it was nice to see one of her followers greet her at the gate of the school. She had such potential to become a minor TV star. "How was the filming? Did it go well?"

"Did it go well…" Kizana scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "I practically made that internet show. Of course the production budget was rather small, but I think my very presence in every episode I was in more than made up for it."

"Wow, that's amazing, Sunobu-senpai!"

"So, what has happened during my absence?" Kizana asked as her fan followed her like a lost puppy.

"Well… Um… let's see… we have new club members that need a formal introduction into the club but we're still one short… erm… oh! Masks got banned because of a recent attack on a few students meaning can't do a play we were working on, and if we don't have a play to perform soon the Student Council will cut our budget."

"Hm… That is definitely a problem." Kizana muttered out. "But not much of a challenge. However, I am unfortunately too busy to deal with that matter immediately, so please bring all your problems to my secretary."

"Your secretary?" The follower repeated with a raised eyebrow. "You mean your cousin? What was her name again…?"

"Haruka. You can tell who she is by her drab appearance and that mess she calls her hair." Kizana sighed out before glancing at the gate. "She should've been here by now. She must be late again, how unprofessional of her. No matter, once she comes please go to her for all your inquiries."

"Of course, Sunobu-senpai. I'll find Haruka-san as soon as she comes." Her follower said.

"Oh, and tell the Vice President we will be holding a meeting today after school to sort things out. Hopefully, by tomorrow out new play will be in production." Kizana said as her follower nodded and saluted, dashing off to do her required tasks. As soon as she left her sight, Kizana let out a breath.

"First day back and already my work is cut out for me." She mumbled to herself. "Thank God the Drama Club hasn't imploded while I was away. Let's just hope nothing else goes wr-"

"Hey, you dropped this." A voice from behind her said. She turned around to see a boy holding her shoe. "Er… these shoes look a little big for your feet."

Her heart literally skipped a beat at the sight of this boy.

He was, in every definition of the word, _perfect_. His voice sounded like he could sing sweetest songs a girl would ever hear. His grey eyes were just an eternal void she would get blissfully lost in. His hair looked so soft and it glistened in the sunlight. He was… He was…

"Uh… Hello…?" Taro got the spaced out purpled-hair girl to snap out of her thoughts. "Your shoe?"

"U-Uh… oh… p-please put it on for me!" She quickly demanded. "We are wasting time before school starts."

"Erm, sure I guess?" Taro replied, mumbling something she couldn't quite hear while Taro why he was being asked to do this, since she was just going to take them off once they get into the building. She lifted her foot up as Taro kneeled down, putting her shoe on.

Suddenly, they were transported into a castle. A big, elegant and beautiful castle, inside the ballroom at the dead of night, where the only light shining was the moon and the stars. The boy, no, this _man_ was kneeling at her feet, dressed in royal clothing that glowed while she herself wore a beautiful dress she only imagined in dreams. And on her foot was a glass slipper, a little loose, sure but still a perfect.

"Uh… Hello…?" Taro asked as Kizana drifted off to dreamland again, not noticing that the bell was ringing. "I need to go… I'll see you around, I guess?" He said as he walked away just as Kizana snapped out of it.

"…I know what to do for the play." She said as she watched the love of her life walk away from her. "And you will be in the starring role. Yes, my Romeo. Though our meeting was short, our fates shall intertwine… and thus I will be your Juliet. By Friday… we will become lovers crossing each other among the stars."

Not like Ayano had anything to say about that as she watched from behind a sakura tree.

The Yandere just pulled out her phone and sent the local information broker the photo she took of her latest rival. "Info-chan… give me everything you have on this whore." She growled, murderous intent in her eyes.

" _Already done. Happy hunting, Yandere-chan._ " Info-chan said before hanging up. "So, the fisher of man has hooked another catch… let's see where this goes…" She muttered to herself as she checked her security cameras, seeing Taro Yamada, Osana Najimi and Amai Odayaka in the hallway talking about something before going their separate ways.

This was going to be a fun one.

(Lunch)

Today is a new day.

That's what she kept telling herself ever since she heard it.

Sure, she wasn't the luckiest person in the world, or the most punctual… or the most financially stable but that wouldn't stop her. Eventually things would work out as long as she kept her head held high. This was her last year before university and from there she hoped life would go her way again.

She just hoped her luck would turn around this year. After all, it's not like things could get worse as this is her first day as an official Third Year of Akademi and she was going to make the most of-

 _ **SPLASH!**_

"Of course it was me…" Kokona Haruka deadpanned, not even bothering to take off the bucket on her head just to block out the laughing somewhat. She then sighed in resignation. These days she couldn't afford to wear make-up, and this was one of the reasons why. Did nothing about her uniform that was revealing her large D cup purple bra. "At least it was water this time, I'll give ya that…" She muttered out as she started her walk to the girl's bathroom, only to accidentally hit a wall, then the door and then finally trip into the hallway as she still hadn't taken off the bucket, causing people to laugh even harder, except for a few select individuals.

"Goddamn it, Ronshaku…" Osana muttered as she watched the local bully get congratulated for her latest effort while one of them uploaded the video. They were sitting at the fountain, minding their own business and studying the crowd for possible candidates when the prank occurred.

"Well, she's not getting a cupcake." Amai said as she gave one to Osana and Taro. The only boy of the group just looked at the cupcake with purple frosting in his hand before getting up and running. "Huh!? Taro-senpai!?"

"I'll be back! I just want to help!" Taro called back as he went after the girl.

"That's what I'm worried about…" Osana whispered out, knowing where he went trouble and the Yandere were sure to follow.

Wait a minute…

"Come on, we better follow him." Osana said as she got up. "If Taro is chasing after a girl,"

"His stalker will surely follow." Amai finished off. "Maybe it's our chance to catch her. Let's not waste any more time." They both nodded at each other and ran after the boy they fell for.

Unaware that Ayano had been listening to them.

"Damn…" Ayano swore under her breath. Her previous rivals know of her existence as well, making things harder for her. One was trouble enough but two was going to take some serious effort. However, she knew it would be best to wait until there was another opportunity to learn about her new enemy, while Senpai's watchdogs were distracted.

In the meantime, she had some planning to do.

After all, dogs are eventually put down to give them the mercy of death. This was no different.

Meanwhile, Taro searched for the large-breasted girl, thinking that she shouldn't have gotten very far. But she mysteriously disappeared. He guessed she went to one of the girl's bathrooms, but he checked and there was no response. When he did actually entered (rather hesitantly), he still couldn't find her. "Damn it… I think I missed her." He sadly muttered to himself. "I should probably search for her after class. At the very least, her day can end on a happy note." He said to no one in particular as he started going back to the courtyard.

That is… until he saw a girl with wet purple hair and eyes stick out of the corner.

"Oh, there you are!" Taro called out as he ran up to her. She gasped and covered her chest. Her clothes were still wet and she was just getting to the bathing area when she heard someone talking.

"U-Um… Hi." She said meekly, wanting to end this conversation soon. "You were looking for me?"

"Yeah. Here." Taro then gave Kokona the cupcake Amai made. "What those bullies did was unforgivable, and I know it isn't much but… at the very least have something good happen to you today."

"O-Oh… u-u-um… thanks…" She stuttered out as she blushed before licking the frosting. "W-Wow… it's really good.

"It's made by a friend. She's really good." Taro explained. "Want to get more? I'll gladly introduce you to her if you want?"

"Sorry, but I can't." Kokona said with a sigh. "You see… I'm very busy. I'm the secretary to the Drama Club's President and it's sort of a mess right now. But thank you for the offer."

"I'll help out." Taro automatically offered as he took a closer look at her. "You look… kinda tired."

"I-I'm not that tired…" Kokona lied as she tried to hide the growing dark circles around her eyes. "It's fine. Really."

"No, it's not." Taro stated. "How about you go home? Just tell me what I need to do, and you go home and sleep."

"I can't. My… My cousin… My cousin's kind of a bi-well, she's not easy to work with. Just…" Kokona then finally sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll go tell her that I'm going home early today. Meet me at the front of the school so we can discuss your duties."

"Okay. Good." Taro said. Kokona then sighed again.

"And… you're gonna have to pay me…" Kokona groaned out.

"H-Huh? What?" Taro got out in confusion.

"Look, I'm sorry but… I really, _really_ need money right now and I don't have any part-time jobs because of Drama and my cousin's the only one who actually pays… me…" Kokona then trailed off once the kind-hearted boy pulled out his money from his wallet.

"Is 5000 yen enough for you to go home and sleep?" Taro said as he placed his entire month's allowance in her hand. "I'll deal with her. Now just get through the day. I'll see you later."

"Th-Thank you…" She whispered out, clutching the wad of money close to her chest before quickly pulling out her wallet to put the cash in. "I'll… I'll see you soon…"

"Taro. Taro Yamada. Third Year." Taro finally introduced himself as he shook her hand, causing her to blush.

"K-K-K-Kokona Haruka. I'm a Third Year, too." The purple-haired girl said as she wrapped her hand around his. "Thank you… again… Yamada-kun."

"You're welcome Haruka-san." Taro replied just as the bell rang. "Oh, we better get to class."

"Wait, my uniform is still…" Kokona then blushed harder as she feebly tried to make her breasts smaller. Taro just smiled and took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. "Hey, you're going to get in trouble if you show up without this."

"I'm sure Sensei will understand. Now go! You're gonna be late." Taro said. Kokona could only stare into his warm, caring eyes before smiling and running off, her heart beating faster than she knew.

She couldn't believe it as she ran to class. After all, it wasn't normal for someone to fall in love before they even knew their name.

Osana and Amai couldn't help but glare jealously at the happy girl as she ran past their hiding spot.

"…He does realize he just made her the Yandere's next target, right?" Amai had to ask.

"That baka, too nice for his own good." Osana sighed out in frustration. 'But that's why I love him.' She mentally added.

"So, what do we do?" Amai asked, ready for some action against her attacker. 'Senpai is mine, bitches!' She growled out in her head as the crazed look returned to her eyes.

"I don't know." Osana admitted. "I guess we lay low and gather information. Suspicious activity around the school and such."

"How about we tell the principal? If we say that we suspect that one of the students here is a sociopath, maybe it'll make dealing with the Yandere easier." Amai suggested.

"Maybe, but he's been jaded for years since that murder in the girl's bathroom all those years back." Osana informed. "But… It's worth a try, right? You keep an eye on Taro while I go to the principal. If this all works out, the Yandere will be off prison by Sunday."

"Okay. That sounds good. I'll tell Taro as soon as I can." Amai said as she left the hiding spot, only for Osana to drag her.

"Hey, if Taro finds out, so does the Yandere. We'll have to wait until we're in somewhere private." Osana said. "Meeting at Taro's house?"

"That's too obvious." Amai said. "How about Lotus Juice Karaoke? I'll go ahead first a get us a private room where we can plan things out there. Plus, there's little to no chance the Yandere will be listening in."

"That's brilliant!" Osana called out, while keeping her voice low. "The Yandere won't know what hit her."

"We'll see about that." Ayano said as she disconnected her phone from Amai Odayaka's phone before it was traced.

She won't fail this time. She'll always be one step ahead.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! God, I want to make Ayano more lethal this time around so she's going be much more of a challenge to overcome over the course of the story. She'll wise up, plan out her eliminations more effectively and even throw a few curveballs to ensure she isn't stopped. Remember, she gets harder to deal with every two rivals, and I'll soon be introducing outside elements like projects or jobs. Mundane stuff that becomes very hard to deal with while dealing with a psycho.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!

 **20-8-9-19 9-19 6-21-14 7-9-18-12.  
1 3-15-16-25 1-20 12-5-1-19-20.  
15-14-5 19-15-21-12 23-1-14-20-19 18-5-22-5-14-7-5.  
1-14-15-20-8-5-18 9-19 18-5-2-15-18-14.  
2-21-20 9 23-9-12-12 19-1-22-5 20-8-5 18-5-19-20 6-15-18 12-1-20-5-18.  
2-21-20 11-14-15-23 20-8-9-19.  
9 1-13 3-15-13-9-14-7.  
1-14-4 15-14-5 15-6 20-8-5-19-5 7-9-18-12-19…  
23-9-12-12 2-5 13-25 22-5-19-19-5-12.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Liar

Alright, here comes trouble. UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of He Knows!

...

...

Let's get to the reviews. To DragonCrusader: Yeah, I need to work on that. I kinda silently dropped my beta, because I didn't want to use up his/her time anymore considering they have other responsibilities now. I'll work on editing my own work so there won't be any skipped words before uploading.

Oh, that's it.

...Let's start this dumb chapter, because really wanna write how they neutralise Kizana.

Load Game... Start!

Chapter 8: The Liar

 _Is it easy being in love?_

 _Is it hard being in love?_

 _If my heart says so, let it sing._

 _If my heart doesn't say anything, let it beat still._

 _Roses and violets_

 _Blood and violence_

 _Where do we cross the line and where do we draw it?_

"Thank you, Yamada-san for reading that excerpt from _Nanako Bara's Where We Die_." The teacher said as Taro sat back down. Afternoon classes were going by rather peacefully and slowly, at least to him. He was catching up pretty quickly since being away from school for almost a week, and he was doing decently in his tests but there was always this lingering feeling that... he should be doing more.

Of course, high school paled in comparison to a killer wandering around the school. Watching. Waiting. Readying herself for a chance to strike.

It was a rather heavy weight to bear knowing that everyone you know is either in danger or secretly insane and that everyone even remotely close to you were just seconds away from a knife to the heart.

And he didn't want to even think about his love life right now. That was mess he would need to clean up after everything was said and done.

It was also rather worrying that he was getting used to the feeling that he was being watched.

That was because Kokona Haruka was staring at her crush from across the room, born only a couple of hours ago.

His voice, the way he spoke with such emotion and how he perfectly articulated his words. She could almost imagine that it was him that wrote those words himself under an alias, because he truly understood what those words meant to him and those around him. Maybe it was exaggerating and she was just falling hard for him, but this was first time she felt something so _real_ and so raw.

Mostly because that poem was basically nonsense.

What was it about him that drew her closer? It wasn't his face or his body. No, it was _him_. Taro Yamada. The instant she saw him, she just knew what type of person he is. Nice, a caring heart, willing to go anywhere and do anything just to make those he loved happy.

He also has a nice butt. Bonus!

"I wonder... if he'll say yes." Kokona whispered to herself as she closed her eyes, imagining herself with him under the sakura tree. "Please... say yes... Zzzz..."

"HARUKA!"

"HUH!?" Kokona exclaimed before wincing as a piece of chalk bounced off her forehead. The class quietly chuckled as she sighed. "Um, sorry Sensei."

"Haruka, I do not tolerate sleeping in class. You were already rather late this morning so don't push your luck, young lady." The teacher scolded. "You have underclassmen that look up to you, so don't play a bad example in your final year at Akademi."

"S-Sorry, Sensei! It won't happen again, Sensei!" Kokona quickly apologized as she stood up and bowed a little _too_ fast, which ended up with her slamming her head onto her desk. "Ow!"

The class burst out laughing while Taro looked at her worryingly.

"Class quiet down!" The teacher ordered, silencing everyone before sighing. "Be glad I am very lenient. Now, do this again and you will get detention."

"W-Wait, Sensei, you can't do-" Kokona started to argue before realising it was hopeless. "O-Of course, Sensei. I apologize, Sensei."

"Good." The teacher said just as the bell rang. "Okay, class is over. Remember to review your notes tonight. We're having a test tomorrow."

With a collective groan from the students, they started to shuffle out of the classroom either to go to their clubs or go home.

Kokona groaned as she rubbed her head. 'Just a typical day for Kokona the Fool.' She thought as she packed up her things.

"Haruka-san, are you okay?" Taro asked as he approached her desk.

"H-Huh? Yamada-kun?" Kokona got out as she looked up, her heart skipping a beat once she saw his caring expression. "O-Oh, that's okay. I mean, I'm okay. J-Just fine and dandy Yamada-kun. Really, it's just another day. Hehehehe... he... he..." She weakly chuckled out.

"Well, today you came here late, got drenched by bullies, showed up to class in dripping wet, lost your homework from over the break and then slept during class." Taro listed off as Kokona sighed at each event. "I wouldn't say that's a good day."

"Well, it's a good day for me, at least." Kokona mumbled to herself as she stood up. "I'm going home now. Sorry, I promised to meet you in front of the school but then I found out we're in the same class so... uh... You can talk to Kizana for your duties. And thanks again for taking over for me in Drama. My cousin is a slave driver sometimes so if you-"

"You don't warn me or convince me otherwise. Just go home and go to sleep." Taro said. Kokona just smiled as she gazed at his handsome face before shaking herself out of it. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll... I'll see you soon. I mean, well, tomorrow." Kokona replied nervously as she walked out of the room in a hurry.

"Secretary to the Drama Club President." Taro muttered to himself. "How hard can that be?"

(A few minutes later...)

"You want me to do what now?" Taro choked out after listening to Kizana Sunobu about his duties in the clubroom while the other club members were working hard on the play.

Though, in reality he only had one duty.

"I want you to play Romeo, my dear boy." Kizana repeated softly. Taro had to admit, the scent of roses on her kind of calmed him down. "We are doing Romeo & Juliet for our performance this semester we are looking for someone like you to play my Romeo."

" _Your_ Romeo?" Taro questioned.

"But of course, I will play the part of Juliet. Isn't it obvious, _Romeo-kun_?" Kizana answered in a seductive tone which Taro couldn't ignore. "I've been searching far and low and _you_ , and man my dear, dear, _lazy_ cousin has somehow convinced such a perfect man to play the key part in Romeo & Juliet."

"Er... I'm supposed to be your secretary." Taro pointed out, wanting to escape right now.

"The only secretary I will have serving me is Kokona Haruka and no one else." Kizana stated. "It does not matter. Now please, I ask you-no. I _beg with all my heart:_ Will you be my Romeo?" She asked once again.

"I... Uh... well..." Taro wasn't sure if he should do it. "Um... well, I'm not exactly an actor and..."

"If you do it, I'll pay Kokona twice the amount I pay her currently for the rest of the year and if you do a good job, ten times the original salary."

"Okay, I'll do it." Taro sighed out, knowing how desperate Kokona was for cash. She already had it rough, so he may as well make sure she doesn't work herself to death.

"Thank you, Romeo-kun. I am sure we will make the audience gasp in awe of our performance!" Kizana declared.

Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Ayano was glaring at the _purple haired bitch_ in utter contempt as she tightened her grip on her pencil so hard it snapped in half. "Wah! Yan-chan! What happened? Is editing the script frustrating you?" A fellow club member asked in concern before looking at where Ayano was looking at. "Ah... I get it. It's because Sunobu-senpai took the lead role without even consulting anyone. It always happens but we get used to it. Don't be upset, Yan-chan. We always have next year."

 _There wasn't going to be a next year for Kizana Sunobu. What waits in her future was only her death._

But then... Ayano was struck with inspiration.

She had an idea in mind from what What's-Her-Name told her. Something that won't involve getting messy, but still give her direct control over the situation if she played her cards right and maybe even win Senpai in one fell swoop.

Ayano was going to steal the lead role from the Club President.

Ayano was going to steal Senpai's heart.

But if that failed... well, maybe Romeo & Juliet will give her ideas. Romance and tragedy did often go together after all.

(Evening)

(Lotus Juice Karaoke)

"WHAT!?" Taro exclaimed.

"Yes baka! That purple haired girl is in love with you!" Osana shouted out as she started punching him. "And this is for being late!"

"Wh-Hey! Stop! I got caught up in something!" Taro tried to explain himself as he tried to guard against his childhood friend's weak attacks. "And how do you know her?"

"Not! Important!" Osana snarled, until she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders.

"Osana-chan! Stop it!" Amai called out as she pulled the tsundere off of him. "What's important now is that she's the Yandere's next target."

"Damn it, Taro! You're so frickin' dense!" Osana growled in frustration before she sipped her drink, making her calm down. "Ugh, look, I'm sorry but Amai-chan is right. We have to protect..." She then trailed off as she started searching her memories.

"...You don't know her name, do you?" Taro deadpanned.

"Well, you two were talking rather quietly." Amai admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Alright, which one?" Taro asked as he leaned back in his seat.

"...Which what?" Osana puzzled, looking rather confused.

"Er, you do know there are two girls with purple hair and put up in twin drills in the school." Amai pointed out. "The girl Taro met and the Drama Club President. I think remember hearing that they're cousins."

"Well, you're right." Taro sighed out before leaning forward to get his drink. "But here's the thing..."

"What is it, Taro?" Osana asked.

"You see... I think the Drama Club President, Kizana Sunobu... I think she was coming onto me." Taro awkwardly admitted.

Suddenly, there was a large amount of killing intent in the room as Osana and Amai's expressions darkened.

"...Repeat that again." Osana demanded through gritted teeth.

"So we may talk to Kizana-san about various topics." Amai added as she started playing with her knife. Taro didn't want to question how she got that in here.

"Guys! Focus!" Taro quickly reigned in his... crushes. 'Yeah, let's go with that. Stupid complicated love life.' He thought.

"S-Sorry, Taro." Osana sighed out as Amai put away her knife. "But... We can't... it's because..."

"I love you." Osana and Amai said in unison.

It took a second to realise what they both just said and looked at each other.

"You love Taro!?" Osana exclaimed, not knowing this little bit of information beforehand.

"Y-Yeah..." Amai muttered out sheepishly, knowing Osana's love for the boy for a while now. It still bothered her but... she wanted Taro to be happy no matter what. Though, preferably she wanted him to be happy with her. "I even... had my first kiss with him..."

"You _what!?_ " Osana shouted out as Taro sweated nervously.

"Is that really important right now? Everyone's life is in danger, and I really don't want to talk about this right now!" Taro groaned.

"But it's... But I... Fuck!" Osana swore in frustration before sighing. "Ugh... I hate my life...!"

'I hate my life too.' Taro and Amai thought in unison.

"Let's go back on topic." Taro suggested before taking a sip of his drink. "So, I assume that the girl you saw who is love with me is Haruka-san. And I know that Sunobu-san is trying to get together with me. It's possible that... Both of their lives are in danger."

"So you think the Yandere is targeting both of them." Amai mumbled out. "Well, we can't be sure that the Yandere knows that there are two people after your heart this time. Osana-chan and I can take care of Haruka-san while you take care of Kizana-san, but we have to be subtle about this. The Yandere might know we're working together to stop and expose her."

"And I'm planning to visit the principal to see if he can help us tomorrow." Osana spoke up. "I doubt he will but we need at least some sort of adult to help us."

"But we barely have evidence that the Yandere exists. It's going to be tough to convince anyone to join us unless they are... you know, targeted." Taro pointed out grimly. "Same goes if we just tell the targets. They won't believe us."

"Like I said, we have to subtle about this. Make sure we aren't obvious we're watching over them." Amai stated.

"I still can't believe we're actually trying to catch a psychopath." Osana sighed out.

"But who else will?" Taro rhetorically asked.

"And that's why this entire thing sucks." Osana continued to sigh. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Five minutes left and it's a school night. We better get home. We'll continue this over the phone." Taro said as he downed the rest of his drink before standing up.

"I wish we came here for more innocent reasons." Amai lamented as she stood up as well.

"We have no choice. The Yandere could be anywhere." Osana said before she drank the rest of her drink. "We can't be too careful. She could be outside waiting for Taro after all."

The three then paused in thought as they slowly came to the conclusion that maybe the Yandere really was outside.

They promptly rushed out for the slight chance that they could capture her, but they gave up very quickly when they failed to spot anyone their age.

Meanwhile, in the Aishi Residence, Ayano was pacing around the living room.

She followed Taro to the local Karaoke Bar, getting progressively twitchier as Taro talked to those _whores_. To stop herself from just running at them and _ripping their throats out with her teeth_ , she regretfully ran home.

She was worried for Senpai, thinking that he may be in danger with those _bitches_ around but it was either protecting him from those that would steal him from her or protecting her identity.

"No. I only have one chance with Senpai. I have many more chances to deal with everyone after him." Ayano told herself. She then turned to her bag, which was lying on the couch with the script of Romeo & Juliet in it. "...I will steal a kiss from Senpai." She told herself as she reached into her bag.

Time to practice.

(Tuesday)

(Early Morning)

Kokona yawned as she made to way to school. Already, she had so much stuff she had to do today that it wasn't even funny. She had to find and get the costumes ready, convince either the school band or the Light Music club to provide the music. Assign everyone's roles and... and...

"Hey!" A familiar voice woke her up before she started to sleep in front of the school. She turned around and saw the boy she loved running up to her, with his childhood friend conversing with the Cooking Club President. "Haruka-san! Good to see you're here early."

"U-Uh... th-thanks." Kokona got out before yawning uncontrollably. "S-Sorry about that but I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Really? Is it your cousin?" Taro guessed.

"Y-Yes." Kokona groaned as they went to their shoe lockers. "She kept me up all night, yelling at me for getting you to help me." She sighed out as she put on her school shoes. "I went like; _'How could you? Getting someone to do your work, you lazy nincompoop. Do you understand how honoured you should be as my secretary? I should fire you on the spot!'_ Ugh, I want to **choke her** sometimes!" She growled out as slammed her shoe locker shut.

"Yeah, she seems to be a bit of a handful." Taro chuckled out.

"She is. Also, I can't believe she managed to drag into the play." Kokona sighed out was they went to courtyard to wait until homeroom. "I'm so sorry. When I heard about it from her, I couldn't believe it."

"Well, it's for you after all. You need the break." Taro replied in a comforting tone.

"Yeah, well. Break's over, I can't _neglect my duties_." Kokona grumbled out as they sat at the fountain. "You know, I thought my final year would be easier, that I could actually get to act in the plays the club sets up. But Kizana never lets me even be an extra."

"Why is that?" Taro had to ask.

"Because she keeps piling on work for me to do." Kokona answered. "Probably thinks I could steal her lead role. And I could if I wanted to..."

"...Then why don't you?" Taro questioned.

"Huh? What?" Kokona got out in slight confusion.

"Maybe you can convince the club to make you Juliet." Taro suggested as he reached into his bag and pulled out his script. "You can use my script to practice the lines. I sure didn't last night."

"Y-Yamada-kun. I-I can't... she'd probably-" Kokona stuttered out as she tried to push the script away.

"I'll deal with Kizana. You go and steal the show. I believe in you." Taro encouraged as pushed the script onto her. Kokona was stunned for a second, feeling her heart beat rapidly as a blush appeared on her cheeks. Before she could reply, Osana and Amai walked up to him.

"Hey, mind if we steal him for a moment? We need to talk about something." Osana said as he pulled his arm.

"Oh! Right! Sorry, gotta go." Taro apologized as he was dragged away. "See you later!"

"B-Bye-bye, Yamada-kun!" Kokona called out as she waved. Once he was out of sight, she just groaned in frustration and worry. Her life wasn't going to get easier, was it?

"So, what's the situation?" Taro asked after they walked to a secluded corner of the school. "Osana, have you talked to the principal?"

"No. He isn't here yet. I'll try afterschool." Osana replied before turning to Amai. "How about you Amai-chan? You find Kizana anywhere?"

"Sorry, but I couldn't." Amai sighed out. "I even came to school before the gates opened and waited and I couldn't see Kizana-san the entire time. She could be late."

"Damn." Taro muttered under his breath. "We're getting nowhere here. I would help you guys but I'm doing the play for the Drama Club."

"Romeo & Juliet right? I've read it a while ago." Amai admitted. "...Oh no."

"What is it?" Taro asked.

"...What if the Yandere took advantage of the play?" Amai replied. "There is one scene in it where Juliet drinks a special potion that puts her in a death-like state. But..."

"The Yandere might replace it with actual poison." Osana realised. "And Kizana is Juliet, isn't she!"

"Oh crap!" Taro suddenly shouted out. "I just told Haruka-san to try and get the lead role instead!"

"WHAT!?" Osana and Amai exclaimed.

"We have to shut down the play! There's way too many opportunities for either of them to die without us knowing it." Osana worried. "We need to warn someone!"

"But I heard if the Drama Club can't show the School Council a play, they'll be forced to shut it down." Amai pointed out as Taro winced. Kokona needed the club to help pay for her debts. "There's just isn't enough time. We're just gonna have to do it ourselves."

"And how can we do that?" Taro asked.

"We have to make sure Romeo and Juliet have a happy ending." Osana stated in determination.

"Romeo and Juliet killed themselves in the end." Amai pointed out. "And a fair few other people died too."

"Look, we just have to wing it and play it by ear for now." Taro said as the bell rang. "I want you girls to come to Drama with me to keep lookout. The last thing we want is to ruin the play, but we also have to protect Haruka-san and Sunobu-san... without them knowing..." He finished weakly.

"Alright. Osana-chan, you go visit the principal afterschool while I go with Taro-kun to Drama." Amai said.

"R-Right." Osana sighed out, annoyed that Amai would get more time with the boy she loves. "Now let's get going before we're late! We'll talk about everything tonight online. Don't want to go to Karaoke every time we want to meet up."

"Okay. Let's go." Taro said with a nodded at they all went to class, not noticing purple hair sticking out from around the corner before disappearing.

"My Romeo..." Kizana dreamily sighed out as she placed a hand over her chest.

Yes, she will make him hers alone.

(Afterschool)

The Drama Club moved to the gym since they got permission from the teachers to allow them a wider space to do everything they can to prepare for the scene they were going to show to the Council this Friday. Right now, they were waiting for everyone to get here so they could begin the meeting.

Taro was tapping his foot as he looked at the door, waiting for the person he believed. "Come on, Haruka-san. Don't tell me you're not coming." He mumbled under breath, worried that Kizana beat her down too hard to work up the courage to defy her cousin.

"Just _what_ are you doing here, Odayaka? The only other club I allow to experience the pleasure that is Drama Club is the Photography Club. Did your club get shut down while you were away and want to join?" Kizana asked, her tone clearly stating that she didn't care and wanted her gone.

"Oh, just visiting the other clubs to see how they're doing." Amai lied, tray filled with sweets in hand and a struggling false smile on her face. "Want a cookie?"

"Do not give me this **trash**! I am under a strict diet and if I stray from it even just a little, I will be shunned by the **entire theatre community**!" Kizana growled, while all the other club members took one. "You are interrupting the atmosphere I have created to allow the _emotions_ of my play to be felt by the audience with that... _that_..." Kizana tried to find a word to describe Amai's cooking, getting progressively madder the longer she couldn't find one. "Just. Leave. Before I contact the teachers and have your club **shut down**!"

"Don't worry. It's only for today." Amai calmly replied in a sweet and gentle tone. 'Also if you call my cookies trash again, I'll shave your pretty little head of yours in your sleep, _bitch_.' She thought in the same sweet and gentle tone.

"Hey, Sunobu-buchou! Everyone's here!" One of the club members announced as the seemingly last person came through the door.

"But not Haruka-san." Taro muttered out. "Come on, don't let her get to you. I know you can do this Haruka-san."

"If you're just going to watch, just stand over there and keep yourself quiet." Kizana ordered as she pointed at the back of the gym. Amai's eye twitched before bowing and walking off while Kizana got on stage.

'Keep a lookout for the Yandere, Amai. Just keep watch.' Amai told herself to keep herself calm as the room became silent.

"So, we are gathered here today to discuss the play we are doing and the details. As you should all know, we are doing the greatest romance in all of fiction _Romeo & Juliet_." Kizana said as her club member. "We must show the Student Council a scene from the play in order for our funding to continue. Such a trivial problem for us to accomplish, given my skills. However, even I cannot do things alone. That is why I have brought in this... _magnificent_ specimen of a man here. May I introduce to you my Romeo, Taro Yamada!"

"Uh... hi?" Taro nervously chuckled out as he scratched the back of his head while the club clapped.

" _THAT ROLE SHOULD'VE BEEN MINE!"_

"Shut up! Your name is not important enough for me to remember, so you will not get the role of my Romeo!" Kizana shouted out.

" _Not important!? I'm your Vice President!_ "

"Meh, don't care." Kizana shrugged off. "Anyway, back onto our parts and roles. As it is obvious to everyone, I will be playing the female lead role as Juli-"

 **OBJECTION!**

The room suddenly filled with gasps as everyone looked around to see who yelled that out.

"...What?" Kizana scowled as she looked at her club members. "Who dares interrupt me?"

The voice they heard, the only voice to ever defy the Club President, shocked the entire room to its core.

" _Me_." Ayano answered, the club members shifting away to allow Kizana a clear view of the defiant girl.

"Say. That. Again." The Drama Club President growled slowly as she glared at the new club member.

"If you wish." Ayano said as she pointed at Kizana.

 **OBJECTION!**

"I challenge you, Kizana Sunobu! To the lead role of Juliet!" Ayano declared, a fire in her eyes.

"What?" Kizana growled.

"WHAT!?" The club members gasped.

"What." Amai got out in confusion.

"Aishi-san?" Taro whispered out.

"I want the lead role! And I will not allow you to take S-Sen-I mean, take the role from me!" Ayano stated in determination. "So, I challenge you, Kizana Sunobu! Whoever wins this challenge, will get the lead role!"

"Hmph, you think you're better?" Kizana taunted.

"No, I know I am better." Ayano retorted.

 **This is the fight of the century!**

 **Their passions will burn brighter than the shiniest of stars!**

 **Ayano Aishi vs. Kizana Sunobu!**

 **BEGIN!**

"Shut up, Whoever-You-Are!"

" _I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT_!"

Save Game... Quit!

Whew! Done! God, school's starting back up in a few weeks and need to organise a ton of stuff before I attend my second semester. Oh well, at least writing let's me calm down.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	9. Chapter 9: The Deceiver

Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of, drumroll please, He Knows! I have a two week break and I may as well spend it writing. Plus I may be away for a while in the coming months to uh... focus on... studies. *cough* Spider-Man PS4 *cough*. And I have to keep up with all the updates to YanSim just to keep things consistent and... sigh, I really need to update more. So let's gets some reviews out of the way.

To Mark the Mark: I'll consider it. What I have planned for Oka is starting to sound stupider and stupider as I think about it, but uh... I'm gonna roll back a few things to make things work. To a random Guest: Don't worry, Kizana won't be the flat character she is by the end of her week. To MElessSmasher: Okay, I admit, I shouldn't have made Ayano go loud but there is something behind it which we will know shortly.

That's it for now! Let's the meltdown begin!

Chapter 9: The Deceiver

 _Senpai must be mine._

 _A simple sentence, but a truth nonetheless._

 _No matter who gets in the way of our destiny, I'll cut them down._

 _Whoever tries to hurt him, I'll break them in two._

 _And if they cross me, I will destroy their lives._

 _I am_ _a_ _devotee, an admirer, a fan, an enthusiast, an aficionado, a follower, a supporter, a fanatic, an addict._

 _But there is only one thing my Senpai needs to be perfect._

 _Senpai must be mine._

"Why the Hell am I doing this?" Osana wondered out loud as she walked towards the Principal's Office. "I know it's going to be a big fat no! Lazy asshole barely even cares about Akademi. I'm not seeing security cameras being built, and nothing about finding the Yandere and that would make our lives so much easier! Ugh, why isn't he fired yet?" She complained before sighing. This wasn't going to get any easier, was it?

When she finally got there, she saw that the door was closed, muffling the principal's voice. He seemed to be arguing with someone over the phone. Osana was going to just wait until the phone call ended before she knocked on the door until she got curious.

This argument sounded heated, personal. Nothing about school matters if her cynical interpretation of the principal was correct.

Doing a quick check, she confirmed that the door was unlocked. So she ducked down and slid the door open just a little to listen into this.

"…Saikou-san, I assure you that everything is going well in Akademi. I assure you!" The principal stated, clearly frustrated by this conversation. "The police are investigating and there is no evidence so far. Everything is safe and going according to plan."

'Safe? _Plan_ …?' Osana thought as her eyes widened. 'Wait, _Saikou-san_? Is he… No… hold on…'

"…I remember the deal and its conditions, but rest assured she will be here once she returns." The principal said calmly. "Yes, sir, I will not let the daughter of Ryoba leave this school, no matter how dangerous she is. But, there are limits to what I can do. As long as she doesn't cause too much trouble, she will be here."

'…What? Ryoba? Who the Hell is Ryoba!?' Osana was now panicking. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'Oh God, no! No no no! No… I'm being paranoid… I'm being paranoid!'

"Hey, who's there!?" The principal shouted out. Osana swore before running as fast as she could away from the office. "Get back here! Dammit!" He demanded as he tried to give chase, but his age and weight slowed him down to a crawl.

"Oh God, he knows doesn't he!?" Osana whimpered. "He knows… He knows!"

There was no doubt about it; the principal knew who the Yandere is.

(Meanwhile…)

"So what is it, _Kizana-buchou_? Will you accept my challenge?" Ayano taunted, her name coming out as if it was an insult.

"…Hmph. Fine, if you want the lead role then I will accept." Kizana said. "I assume that it will be a scene from Romeo & Juliet and whoever the audience likes more will get the lead?" Ayano nodded. "Very well, but I get to choose."

Ayano just nodded again, seeing that was fair in this situation.

Not that it mattered. Her plan was already in motion.

"Aishi-san…" Taro whispered out, surprised by the girl and her outburst. Who knew this quiet, shy and weird girl would be this… brave, to be the only one to actually stand up against Kizana in his time with the Drama Club.

It gave him a newfound respect for her honestly.

"We will be doing Act 2: Scene 2; the Capulet's Orchard. Everyone, places! This will be one of the scenes we will be doing for the Student Council so let us treat this as practice for the real thing!" Kizana ordered as all the other club members started setting up the stage and such. "Romeo-kun, have you memorized your lines?"

"Wh-What? O-Oh…" Taro got out as he scratched the back of his head. "Er… I guess…?"

"Do not worry, Romeo-kun, you have just entered the world of the stage so I will forgive you for your shortcomings if they happen to show during this." Kizana reassured while Ayano glared at the Club President. "I thought this will be a waste of time but, now that I think about it, this will allow me to show the new members why I am the lead and must _be_ the lead."

"That's because you never let anyone have the lead role…" One of the veteran female club members grumbled to herself.

"Did I _hear_ small talk!? Your voice must only be used in **the play** or **instructions** , for example _**GET TO WORK!**_ " Kizana shouted out as the others started to rush.

'God, I really can't stand her.' Amai thought as she gripped her tray tighter as a few of the club members came over to eat some of her snacks. 'Ugh, I hope she'll be taken down a notch by this girl.' She then shook her head. 'Hold on, Odayaka. Keep focus. I have to keep watch just in case _she_ comes.'

After a few more minutes, the stage was set with most of the props in place. The lighting was good enough, the props in the right places and there on the left of the stage, on the soapbox that was supposed to be a balcony were Ayano and Kizana with Taro standing to the right, frantically reading his script.

And that's when Ayano realized her mistake.

She was going to talk about Senpai.

She was going to talk about being in love with Senpai.

 _She was going to be noticed by Senpai._

"What is this? Getting cold feet?" Kizana taunted. "And after such bravado only a few minutes earlier…"

"A-A-Ah…" Ayano squeaked out, shivering on the spot. However, she just silently gave her a determined expression.

"Well, since you are so confident in your abilities, I insist you go first." Kizana said as she stepped off the soapbox, causing Ayano to shiver more. "Go break a leg."

 _Ayano was going to break her legs after this._

"We're starting Scene 2 from Line 2, where Juliet is talking to herself about the love of her life she had just met while Romeo listens to her in secret." The director called out. "Romeo! You're up! Any time you're ready!"

"Oh, we're starting? Oh crap…" Taro mumbled to himself as he flipped over to the page. "U-Um… okay! I'm ready!"

"Why are you telling me!? I meant go when you're ready you insolent cretin!" The director shouted out.

"You be quiet and know your place, boy!" Kizana shouted back. "Your name still escapes me! That's how unimportant you are!"

"For the third time… _I'M YOUR VICE PRESIDENT!_ _Tsurozo Yamazaki!?_ YOU LET ME _RUN YOUR CLUB WHILE YOU WERE AWAY_ _ **YOU BIT-**_ " The Vice President started to yell out, only for to him to be interrupted again.

"SHUT UP!" Kizana hissed before turning to Taro, smiling sweetly which was a serious change from the red-faced angry expression she had on her a second earlier. "Any time you are ready."

"O-Okay." Taro replied with a nod as her turned and looked into Ayano's grey eyes, which showed all the fear she never experience until now. "Um… it's your line… Juliet-chan."

Welp, she peed her panties.

"A-A-Ay… me…" Ayano got out in a high tone of voice. Already, she was failing the very challenge she had set.

'Okay, you can do this…' Taro mentally encouraged himself as he looked down on the script. "S-Sh-She speaks: Oh, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as bea-glorious to this night, being over my head as if a winged messenger of heaven, unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air." He read out in a soft, yet caring and love-struck tone. It was almost if he was there, talking to himself in the middle of the night as he gazed upon the angel and not on a stage fully of crappy props with his angel stand on top of a soapbox in front of some fake flowers.

Silence.

"...Holy shit, he can actually act." One of the club members stated in surprise.

"Curse **HIM** …!" The Vice President cursed to the heavens.

'Um… why isn't Aishi-san doing anything?' Amai wondered as she looked at the frozen girl.

"Ah…!" Ayano squeaked out… before passing out.

 _ **THUD!**_

"A-Aishi-san!" Taro cried out in worry as he rushed up to the fainted girl. "Aishi-san! Ayano-san! Wake up!"

"Well, it seems she has fainted from your performance." Kizana stated. "It seems that I will be Juliet."

"What!?" Taro exclaimed.

"Why are you acting so surprised, Romeo-kun? She barely got out two words and then fainted." Kizana pointed out. "She has terrible stage fright, which will make it impossible for her to be an extra, let alone the lead role."

"I… I… I can't argue with that…" Taro relented.

"Well, someone take her to the infirmary. We do not want her to interrupt our rehearsal." Kizana said as two members lifted her up and carried her out of the gym. "Come on now, Romeo-kun. We may as well do the scene again."

Her arrogant personality.

"Romeo-kun?"

Her commanding tone.

"Romeo-kun~"

Her haughty voice.

"Romeo-kun…?"

God, this was one of the very few people he actively disliked! There were limits to how nice he can be, goddammit! There was nothing he could think of that redeemed her! He wanted to… He wanted to…

" _Sorry, but I can't. You see… I'm very busy. I'm the secretary to the Drama Club's President and it's sort of a mess right now. But thank you for the offer."_

" _Look, I'm sorry but… I really, really need money right now and I don't have any part-time jobs because of Drama and my cousin's the only one who actually pays… me…"_

" _...And thanks again for taking over for me in Drama. My cousin is a slave driver sometimes so if you-"_

" _You know, I thought my final year would be easier, that I could actually get to act in the plays the club sets up. But Kizana never lets me even be an extra."_

" _I went like;_ 'How could you? Getting someone to do your work, you lazy nincompoop. Do you understand how honoured you should be as my secretary? I should fire you on the spot!' __ _Ugh, I want to_ _ **choke her**_ _sometimes!"_

" _I challenge you, Kizana Sunobu! To the lead role of Juliet!" Ayano declared, a fire in her eyes._

"Romeo-kun!"

"It's Taro!" Taro snapped. "It's Taro Yamada and don't you forget it! And I'm not your Romeo! If all else… Kokona Haruka is my Juliet!"

There was a collective gasp as Amai dropped her (clear and empty) tray.

Taro couldn't help but enjoy the shocked face Kizana had before it quickly turned sour.

"O-Oh, my useless cousin? Why _her_ over _me_?" Kizana asked in an annoyed tone.

"I don't know, maybe because she runs the club while you do nothing but be a bitch!" Taro shot back, getting another reaction from the crowd. "And you're not even a quarter of the actress you think you are!"

"S-So you think she's a better actress than me?" Kizana growled, but Taro saw that the sweat drops on her forehead forming, and it wasn't from the lights.

"No, you think she's a better actress than you." Taro replied. "…And that's why she's going to come here and show you whose boss!"

"What?" Kizana got out, losing her accent for a second before becoming angry. " _What!?_ "

"You heard me the first time. I'm not gonna let you work her to death just so you'd have the spotlight." Taro stated as he leaned in close, their noses almost touching. "Art thou gasted of a dram dare from thy cousin?"

Kizana only glared at the boy. He must've read Shakespeare before. "I am not gasted of mine cousin. I am gasted for thou, because if 't be true the lady dost not prove she is better than me thou wilt becometh mine lover." She said.

"...Huh?" Taro got out in a confused tone.

"If she sucks, you become my boyfriend." Kizana translated.

"...Okay." Taro answered with a nod. "And Kokona becomes the Club President when she proves herself on Friday."

"Friday?" Kizana questioned.

"To show the Student Council who's the real President." Taro answered.

"Such unfound confidence." Kizana sighed out in a piteous tone.

"No. I believe in her, and that won't change." Taro stated in determination, causing Kizana to hold back a gasp and take a step back.

"Taro..." Amai whispered out with wide eyes.

"Such passion they have for what they believe in." The Vice President wept out. "Such beautiful prose."

"But... it was all real." Amai pointed out as she picked up her tray.

"I know, but that's what makes them actors. As expected of Buchou, despite her personality. She is why I stay in the club." The Vice President replied as he pulled out a handkerchief and blew in it. Amai didn't really understand. Maybe he was a masochist.

"Still... I have to admit Taro, you're really good at acting." Amai admitted as Taro jumped off the stage.

"Really? Thanks." Taro said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah... _acting_..." Kizana muttered out quietly. "...Club is dismissed. Pack up and go home at once. Remember to practice in your own time." She said as she walked off stage, heading out of the back of the gym rather than the exits the other members used. Taro narrowed his eyes at the stage as all the props were being put away before shaking his head.

"Taro, what made you do that?" Amai had to ask as they started making their way to the exit. "That wasn't you back there."

"I know... but seeing Aishi-san stand up to her and just knowing Haruka-san and that she's going through..." Taro answered. "I want give her the break the world owes her."

"Taro, I love that you want to help but now..." Amai trailed off just thinking the consequences, _the opportunities the Yandere now had_ , of his words and actions.

"We'll... We'll find a way to deal with her." Taro said. "Let's meet up with Osana."

Amai nodded as they took off to the school.

Meanwhile, a familiar girl with purple hair sighed as she retreated into the shadow of the gym.

"I'm so sorry Taro but..." Kokona tried to apologize before she trailed off, just knowing how futile it was. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She told herself, punctuating every word by banging her head against the gym. Probably wasn't a smart idea because she hit the wall just hard enough to knock herself onto the ground. And to make things better, she gave herself a massive bruise. "Owowowow...! Stupid!"

Taro and Amai saw Osana sitting down behind one of the sakura trees near the entrance of the school. She seemed to be worrying about something, looking around occasionally until she spotted them. "Osana, you talked to the principal?" Taro asked as they walked towards her.

Osana just shook her head in response. "Guys... he's not going to help us." She stated as she stood up.

"W-What...?" Amai gasped in disbelief.

"Excuse me? Osana, what do you mean?" Taro pressed, wanting more information on Osana's demeanour.

"Look, we need to get out of here now. I'll talk about it on the way home. It'll be safer hopefully." Osana suggested as she hugged herself, glancing around in fear. Taro was truly concerned for his childhood friend so he nodded.

"Alright. Let's get home." Taro said as grabbed her hand, hoping it would make her feel safer. Osana could only blush while Amai's eye twitched a little as they started walking out the school.

After a few minutes of silence and a quick look around, Osana felt safe enough to talk. "Okay, I was eavesdropping on the principal. He was talking to someone from the Saikou Corporation." She started to explain.

" _Saikou_?" Amai repeated in confusion before taking on a more thoughtful expression. "Well, that does make sense. Akademi was built thanks to their funding. All of Buraza Town is practically run by Saikou. All of _Japan_ is run by Saikou."

"Yeah, but... I think he was talking to the CEO and..." Osana continued before wincing. "He's... He's helping the Yandere, guys."

"What!?" Taro and Amai exclaimed.

"Wait, hold on! What do you mean by that!?" Amai frantically asked.

"I mean he won't be helping us, he'll be working _against_ us." Osana answered. "He made a deal with someone in Saikou Corp to have the Yandere here by... dammit, he never mentioned when."

"Ugh... We can't deal with this..." Taro groaned. "Our main focus is taking the Yandere down. Nothing more. If the principal gets in our way, we'll deal with him but right now we need to focus on stopping her from killing Kizana and Haruka-san."

"Right, that stupid thing." Amai sighed out. "He... made a bet with Kizana-san. If Kokona doesn't show she's better that her... well... he... becomes her... boyfriend." She weakly said.

"WHAT!?" Osana shouted out before glaring at a nervous Taro. "Baka! Baka! Baka!"

"H-Hey! Quit it!" Taro got out as he shielded himself from Osana's fists. "I'm sorry! I got caught up in the moment!"

"Either way, we need to keep watch on both of them." Amai said. "Hm... it would be a lot easier to keep an eye on them if we managed to get Haruka-chan and Kizana-san in the same room."

"But they hate each other, Amai." Taro pointed out as Osana stopped beating on him. "I doubt they could stand being in the same room for even a minute."

"Then we force them." Amai stated with a serious expression on her face. "Even if we have to drag them kicking and screaming." She growled with a crazed look in her eye.

"Y-You scare me, Amai-chan..." Osana admitted. "But... It would make sense to get them in the same room."

"Alright, that sounds like a plan except for the kicking and screaming part." Taro stated. "Tomorrow I'll try and convince Haruka-san to attend Drama Club. It could take all day so I want you two to go on overwatch."

"There's still the play we have to worry about." Amai pointed out.

"Right, I think they're doing the double-suicide as well..." Taro remembered with a wince. "We're gonna have to keep an eye on the props as well. I can't do though... I'm going to be too busy dealing with the play and such."

"Yeah, and I can't enter the clubroom again without looking suspicious..." Amai muttered out before she and Taro slowly turned their gaze towards Osana.

"...I'm going to be kicked out of Cooking Club, am I?" Osana deadpanned.

"Uh... a little..." Amai sheepishly replied.

(Meanwhile...)

"Ugh... Oh..." Ayano groaned out as she slowly regained consciousness.

"Oh, you're awake. You need to go home now before it gets too dark." The nurse said as she started packing up her stuff.

'Hm? Dark?' Ayano thought as she pulled out her phone. It was getting rather late. How long was she out for? She couldn't help but mentally beat herself up for fainting in front of Senpai. Why couldn't she handle more than a few seconds being around him? Her emotions were too powerful for her own good.

She couldn't help but smirk however. She may have failed Plan A, but Plan B was already in motion.

(Wednesday)

(Lunch)

"Ugh..." Kokona groaned as she stumbled her way to the rooftop. Tired. Hungry. Headache. Self-loathing. Yep, just another day as the Unluckiest Girl in Japan. At the very least she can look forward to the bento she made for herself. As she got to the roof, she sat on a nearby bench, placed the bento on her lap and opened it. "Maybe I can take a quick nap after I eat..."

"Oh! Koko-chan!" A voice suddenly called out to her. And since she was not prepared for it well... she jumped in her seat, her bento fell out of her lap and food-first onto the ground. "Oh... sorry about your food..."

"Don't worry, Saki. I wasn't hungry anyway." Kokona lied, suppressing the urge to sigh as she picked up her empty bento. "God, I haven't seen you all week. How's it going?"

"Nothing much. And uh... sorry about that bucket the other day. I couldn't find you anywhere." Saki apologized.

"Why are you apologizing? The bucket was from Musumeand her dumb friends." Kokona grumbled out. "God, on top of her father pressuring my dad, she has to torture me every chance she gets."

"Don't worry, things will work out in the end Koko-chan." Saki comforted her friend, wrapping her arm around her. "So, I heard you've been hanging around some new people since you came back. Come on, what's happening with that?"

"Yeah. I made a new friend and..." Kokona then sighed dreamily. "...He's nice. You should meet him soon."

"Oh, it's a boy, is it~" Saki teasingly sang out as she nudged her friend's shoulder. "Are you gonna stand under the sakura tree on Friday? Get him to plant his enchanted sword in your cave of wonders, do battle with the fearsome dragon within?"

"...What is that metaphor?" Kokona asked in confusion. "And who's the dragon in that?"

"Chlamydia." Saki answered happily.

"Okay, leaving now." Kokona deadpanned as she stood up and walked away.

"Wait, hold on, Koko-chan! I'm kidding!" Saki exclaimed as she chased after her friend before remembering something. "Oh! Wait! Give me sec, I have something!"

"Hm?" Kokona hummed out as she turned around to see Saki reach into her pockets.

"Here. You need this more me." Saki said as she gave her a rather large stack of notes.

"Huh? This is over eighty-two thousand yen!" Kokona gasped out. "Where did you get this type of-" She then stopped herself before dragging Saki over behind the air ventilation machine. "Saki, please tell me you didn't." Kokona begged, hoping she was wrong.

"Huh? What!? No, it's not anything like that! I just worked overtime for a few weeks." Saki quickly replied. "The closet thing I got to it was almost selling one of my bras..."

"Thank you..." Kokona breathed out in relief. "Please, don't even think about doing something like that for me."

"Koko-chan, you can't keep this up you know. You can't do this by yourself!" Saki called out. "This whole thing is a mess! Talk to the Counsellor, talk to _me_. I care about you Koko-chan and if anyone finds out-"

"No one will. I'll make sure of it." Kokona interrupted, determination in her voice. "Just... please, don't try and help me. I'm already too deep in this."

"...Just... don't lose yourself, okay?" Saki said before leaving her friend alone, just hoping she would figure out how screwed up her situation was and escape.

Kokona looked down at the money in her hand before putting it in her wallet. "Just another couple million to go..." She muttered out as she started walking out from behind the ventilation machine. She wondered if she could grab some free samples from the Cooking Club or buy some lunch off of someone.

When she got down to the first floor, another voice got her attention. "Hey, Haruka-san." Taro greeted as he walked up to the purple-haired girl. "How's your day going?"

"...Suddenly a lot better." Kokona admitted as she looked into her crush's eyes. "Um, so, Yamada-kun, why do you want to talk to me?"

"Hm, I don't know. Can't I just be with a friend?" Taro kindly pointed out. It was a nice response, but Kokona couldn't help but feel a little stab to the heart when he said _friend_.

However, she was determined to turn that statement around.

"Well, why don't we go somewhere else to talk?" Kokona suggested as she led him outside through the front entrance. "I really need the fresh air. Classes have been torture lately and I need to clear my head."

"Yeah. It's nice to be out." Taro said as he took in a deep breath, taking in the sight of the sakura trees. "...You ever wonder how old the sakura trees are? They've been here so long that I wonder if the school was built around them."

"No but... It would be nice to know." Kokona admitted as she stepped forward. "This school is so beautiful, no matter if it's at dawn, or in twilight. Dusk and day, you can still enjoy this peaceful air. When the rain falls, it only makes this place brighter once the clouds have been cleaned from the sky. Even at its darkest, this school will never wilt." She mindlessly expressed, feeling the slight breeze in the air. Then, she snapped back into reality and turned around, seeing Taro stare at her. "O-Oh... s-s-s-sorry, I was just... I was just lost in my head." Kokona stuttered out with an embarrassed blush.

"No, it's okay." Taro encouraged as he stepped closer to her. "What you said... it sounds like something straight from a book, a play. An elegant soliloquy from a lady with eloquence."

"Y-You're just saying that." Kokona replied, trying to hide her increasingly intense blush.

"No, I'm not. It's coming from the bottom of my heart." Taro stated honestly. Kokona could feel her heart beat faster before she shook her head, remembering what had happened yesterday.

"...If it's about that stupid challenge you made with Kizana, you can forget it." Kokona said as she narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe you did that. I... can't stand up to her! I can't-" She then stopped when Taro grabbed both her hands.

"Haruka-san, I made that bet because I believe in you. I know you can do this on Friday." Taro asserted. "The Drama Club needs you on stage instead of in the background, letting someone else in the spotlight."

Kokona hesitated to respond. She really didn't want to complicate her life further. "I... I'm sorry, Taro, but I can't-" She tried figure out an excuse as she averted her gaze only for Taro to touch her should to get her to focus on him.

"Yes you can." Taro stated as he grabbed both her hands and stared deep into her eyes. "Kokona-san..."

This caused Kokona to blush even more intensely. No one had said her name like that before part from her father. "P-Please, d-d-don't say my name so informally..." She breathed.

"Kokona-san, please... believe in yourself like I believe in you. Show the world that you deserve more than this." Taro said as the bell rang. He let go of her, making her suddenly feel cold. "We have to go. See you in Drama."

"Yeah. Bye." Kokona shyly replied as she watched him walk away. "...Yeah. I'll be there, definitely." She whispered to herself... before a bucket crashed into the ground right next to her, creating a small crater in the ground. "WAH!" She screamed as she jumped away.

After a few seconds to catch her breath, she looked closely at the object that almost killed her.

"What the... Why is it full of dumbbells!?" Kokona exclaimed before looking up to see who dropped it off the roof. However she didn't see anyone. "Oh... Why is the world out to get me? This happened last year too." She sniffled before she hurried to class.

Meanwhile, Ayano couldn't help but sigh in frustration. She missed her by _that_ much. The bucket must've clipped something on the way down.

She discovering she wasn't the most patient person, but she saw the opportunity and had to take it. Though, it took a lot longer than anticipated (all those dumbbells were really heavy), she still went for it. Plan B was still in motion however. Now she just had to set up Plan C and D just in case B failed as well.

She was done with Drama. She milked everything she could out of the place and could always sneak into the gym on Friday. Plus, she couldn't do anything with Senpai just around the corner hunting her and causing her crippling nervousness to act up. And his _friends_ were going to be watching so she just didn't want to plain risk it. It was time to set her sights on the most dangerous person to her plans and future.

But right now it was time for Biology, her favourite class.

After all, you have to know thy enemy.

(Afterschool)

" **TTTTTTTRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOORRRRRRR!** " The Vice President cried to the heavens. "Oh, how she wounded me! To stab us in the back, she chose _now_ of all times. Curse you, **AYANO** _**AISHI!**_ "

"All she said was that she wanted to do other things and that her heart wasn't in it." One of the club members calmly pointed out. "I don't blame her." She then deadpanned.

"Well, _you_ _ **should!**_ " The Vice President growled.

"I'm sorry but um... who are you again?" This only caused the Vice President to scream in frustration because no one knew his name; despite the fact he has told everyone several times. Meanwhile, the more important characters were going over their own plans and wasting time.

"Who the Hell is Cordelia, anyway?" Osana asked Taro as the scene was getting set up. She had recently joined the Drama Club and was quickly put to work as one of the stage hands as well as the understudy for the character of Cordelia... whoever that was. Mysteriously, Kizana wasn't here so the Vice President took over.

"I think it's the name of the Nurse that serves Juliet." Taro guessed as he flipped through the script. "Though, she's still listed as Nurse in the script. I guess it was edited to give her a name somewhere in here but I'm not seeing it."

"Such a shame. I read through the script and she was one of the few that supported Romeo & Juliet's relationship and she wasn't even given a name... I think." Osana sighed out.

"Hey," Taro started to whisper, signalling Osana to lean in closer. "Has Amai seen Kizana-san yet?"

"No, I'm getting constant updates and she hasn't seen her all day." Osana answered as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is so frustrating."

Suddenly, the door to the gym slammed opened as someone ran in before tripping over their own feet and slammed face-first into the ground.

"Kokona-san!" Taro exclaimed as he and Osana ran up to her while she picked herself up from the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Am... Am I late...?" Kokona asked as Osana helped her up. "Er, I'm here, Yamada-kun." She then flashed the best smile she could muster.

"Hey, you made it just in time." Taro said with a smile. "Hey, um, I haven't seen your cousin around school. What happened?"

"Oh, Kizana is called in sick and she told me to take over for today." Kokona answered. "Still have to do my _secretary duties_ laterbut I'm excited to do some rehearsals! Ah, and I see we have a new member! Hi, I'm Kokona Haruka, secretary of the President."

"Osana Najimi. Pleasure to meet you. Guess I decided on a club. Someone quit to join another." Osana greeted as she shook her hand. "So... when you mean _take over_... do you mean like... take over as Juliet?" Osana guessed.

"H-Huh?" Kokona got out dumbly before rubbing the back of her neck. "She said that since we're going to compete against each other, she said that I can practice being Juliet."

"...That's... nice of her..." Taro vacillated while narrowing his eyes a little.

"Well, it was... more like... ' _You don't stand a ghost of a chance but I may as well let you feel the joy of being Juliet until I take what is rightfully mine back._ '" Kokona mockingly imitated her cousin's voice. "But it's something, right?"

"Everyone! Places!" The Vice President announced, interrupting their conversation. "We need to practice Romeo & Juliet's first kiss! To Romeo and Juliet, remember, the school had allowed us to have a real kiss on stage so do not hold back in showing us passion!"

"Excuse me." Taro got out in surprise before looking at Osana, right before she grabbed him by the collar.

"You better not feel anything, got it?" Osana threatened. "You're mine... and someone else's..." She whispered into his ear.

"Don't worry. You can't have a true love's kiss when you already had it." Taro purred, causing Osana to blush and shiver.

"D-Dummy..." Osana mumbled out, trying to avoid his eyes. "Don't screw up, got it?"

"I won't with you watching. You'd probably throw something." Taro joked, earning a punch to the shoulder. "O-Ow!"

"Romeo! Juliet! Up on stage now!" The Vice President called out.

Taro and Kokona hurried up on stage and flipped open their scripts, trying to find the scene. "Good luck." Kokona told her crush.

"Thanks. You won't need it." Taro stated.

"Alright, we are starting from Line 26! Whenever you're ready, Romeo!" The Vice President shouted out as everyone went quiet.

Taro took a deep breath and held Kokona's hand. He had to do this to help her. "If I profane with my un-worthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." He whispered into her ear, so passionate in his words that Kokona almost thought he was in love with her.

God she wished that was true.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much," Kokona replied with a blush as she put her hand over Taro's. "Which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

"Have not saint's lips, and holy palmers too?" Taro questioned, noticing how… nice and smooth Kokona's hands were.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." Kokona answered sheepishly. She felt herself bleeding into Juliet. And… she liked it.

"Oh, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Taro said as he gripped Kokona's hand a little bit more firmly.

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." Kokona said, truly lost in his eyes.

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." Taro whispered out as he closed his eyes.

They stared into each other's eyes, feeling each other's breath on their skin. It was like an invisible magnetic force was bringing them closer… and closer…

Almost, their lips… only millimeters apart…

"Okay! That's enough! We're out of time, time to pack it up everyone!" The Vice President announced as everyone started to put away their props. "You two did great!"

"Huh?" Both Kokona and Taro got out, snapping back to reality.

"Oh, uh... yo-you did great, Kokona-san." Taro chuckled out nervously.

"U-U-Um, thank, T-T-Yamada-kun." Kokona stuttered out before panic-bowing. She shivered when Taro gently grabbed her chin and tilted her head up.

"Please, call me Taro from now on. There's no need to be formal with me." Taro said before glancing to the side. "Hm... I'm gonna head home now."

"Oh, well... see you tomorrow." Kokona said as she avoided his eyes.

"Y-Yeah... Well... going home now..." Taro chuckled out nervously before running out the gym, with Osana following suit.

"...Tomorrow." Kokona repeated as she placed a hand on her chest.

Meanwhile, Taro and Osana were at the back of the gym, just thinking about what had happened when Taro and Kokona were on stage.

When they almost...

"Taro... back there... that wasn't acting at the end... was it?" Osana asked fearfully, feeling tears starting to escape her eyes.

He didn't respond. Taro just clutched his chest as he leaned against the wall.

He saw the spark within Kokona's eyes.

The same he saw within Osana's and Amai's...

Right before they sealed their fates with a kiss.

He was already too late.

Taro was starting to fall in love with Kokona Haruka.

Save Game... Quit!

So... wanna make the play go like Romeo x Juliet? No, not the Leo DiCaprio one, the anime one. The one I thought had a genderbent Tybalt or someone else. They had pink hair. And yes, it actually exists.

Also, spot the SAO Abridged reference! The only way in hell I'll watch SAO!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


End file.
